Road Trip

"Hey Emma, Where do you suppose this thing runs off to every day?"

"I don't know Tess, but I think we should all get in and head out, go somewhere without all this horrible snow.  Do you think we'll all fit?"

"It could be tight....we could always make the pipsqueak ride on top."

"Nuh-uh, I call shotgun.  The biggest one has to ride on top.  Besides, those dinky, little ears of yours will be more aerodynamic.  There has to be some reason they're so small after all."

"Humph, I suppose that's logical.  Where do you think the chauffeur has got off to?  Yo Ma, where are you?  It's time to go!"

"I know you're in there, come out, come out.  We've had enough of this winter, time to go!"

Questionable Treasures

The other day I saw someone post a recipe for roasted Chick Peas.  Ordinarily, my eyes would simply skim right over the top of something like this as I do not like to cook.  I also do not like to shop and I am incapable of planning menus ahead so even if I notice a recipe, I almost never have the ingredients on hand to make it and have forgotten all about it by the time I do get to a grocery store. 

Occasionally, I remember some random bit of food trivia while I am in a store and I buy some oddment that I think I'll use on the rare day when I feel like diversifying my cooking skills.  Actually, I think in my case, concocting is a better term than cooking. 

Since it was, once again, frigid and windy, I found myself procrastinating about venturing out and I actually read the recipe, which sounded simple enough even for my limited culinary ambitions (and I do know that my foodie friends are, right this moment, rolling their eyes and shuddering in horror - you know who you are).  The recipe only required three ingredients, one bowl and no real effort, just my kind of thing. 

You're supposed to combine onion powder and paprika in a bowl, toss in the peas and then stick them in the oven for an hour.  Hard to mess that up.  I actually had the chick peas (because of one of those aforementioned spree-of-the-moment purchases that never amounted to anything) and the onion powder (ditto the aforementioned spree-of-the-moment thing).  Then there's the paprika.....seems like I've seen some of that around here....

I started rummaging around in the cupboard and in a small box, up on the top shelf, full of miscellaneous spices, I struck gold... 

I think it is only because of Carson's blog post a few days ago that I gave it any thought at all, but I started thinking about where this paprika had to come from.  It's the bottle that gave it away for me.

Once-upon-a-time, I gave my mother (who passed away in 1990) a spice rack with a bunch of spices sometime in the mid-to late 80's.  This was one of them.  That means that this has traveled from Maine to Vermont to California to New York and six (or is it 8?) moves within NY over the span of 25-30 years.  It was in the custody of my brother through at least one of those moves while I was in college and more than a bit homeless.  That little box of miscellaneous kitchen stuff has just gone from one cupboard to the next.  A tiny, odd remnant of a household so scattered and long gone that that it no longer exists clearly even in memory. 

This little bottle of paprika has outlived numerous animals and people.  Which does beg the question:

Just how long does Paprika last?

And:

What the hell is Paprika anyway?!?  (I went and looked it up just in case anyone else is as ignorant as I am)

Phooey, whatever.  It worked just fine and the roasted chick peas aren't half bad. 

Half a Birthday

The little shark is six months old today and he's been here for four months.  He's looking awfully grown up isn't he?:)

In Action

I took this a while ago, before all the snow, and finally got it to upload....the mighty hunter in action.

I didn't realize until I went outside that he did indeed get the mole, he thought it was a fabulous toy.  

If you're wondering where the dancing donkeys are, they are on strike until the weather improves.  The only one around here having much fun right now is the crazy puppy, he doesn't know any better.

Responsiblity Training

Linda wanted to know how I taught Connor to stay with me off-lead and to take responsiblity for keeping up with me.  These are my opinions on the subject, I hope they are useful.....

I'm not sure I would actually call this a 'training method'.  It's more a matter of letting a puppy do what comes naturally and then recognizing and rewarding him for doing it.  An 8 week old puppy is still very much an infant.  At that age, their eyes are still not fully developed, they are still wobbly and they fall down a lot.  They are just starting to explore the world, but they are careful to stay with their adult guardians.  Lucky for us, they recognize humans as guardians nearly as readily as they will recognize another dog.

I started taking Connor for walks with me as soon as I brought him home.  At first, he was not up for much and as soon as I saw him begin to tire, I would pick him up and carry him inside my coat.  Puppies develop very rapidly though so every day he walked a little farther.  He stayed with me because the world is big and puppies are small and it is the nature of young puppies to cling to the safety of their pack.  By the time he was 11-12 weeks old, he didn't want to be carried at all - only babies get carried after all.

A 12 week old puppy is already a much different creature than an 8 week old puppy.  Their eyes are nearly fully developed, they are stronger, have more stamina and they are just starting to think that they can make their own decisions.  During this time, we had mostly been using the same trail through the woods each day and Connor had come to know it well and he knew where home was.  He was also starting to venture farther away from me and on one cold day, on our way home, I could see he was thinking about heading for home and his warm chair without me.  I made no attempt to call him back because I wasn't sure he would come.  Calling out to him in that situation would have set us both up for failure.  Instead, I made a 90 degree turn off the trail and into the woods, pretending the whole time that Connor didn't exist.  From the corner of my eye, I could see him stop and watch me, he looked toward the house, back to me, toward the house....I kept walking and it was too much for him - he ran after me. 

Once Connor caught me, I praised him lavishly and played with him, all the while acting like I had expected no less.  From then on, I made a point of leaving the known trail and using other trails.  I never called attention to my moves or made any attempt to make him follow.  If he failed to see me turn and he lost track of me, he'd search around for my scent and come running after me.  If he couldn't find the track, I'd call out a quiet, "this way" to get his attention and keep going.  It only took a couple of times before he decided that he needed to keep an eye on me at all times.  He has never strayed more than 100 feet from me since.

This is something that comes very naturally to puppies at this age because it is the same way older dogs teach pups that it is up to each pack member to always be aware of the others and keep up with the pack. 

Unfortunately, a lot of dogs never get the chance to learn this responsibility because we don't let them or we accidentally train them out of it.  Usually, the very first thing someone does when they get a puppy is go out and buy a collar and leash for him and begin leash training.  I realize that in an urban area, there may be no other choice, but it does preclude the puppy from developing their innate sense of responsibility.  It may sound like a catch 22, but a dog can not easily learn to stay with you off-lead unless he is given the chance to stay with you off-lead.

The other way that puppies learn to NOT follow is because we inadvertently train them not to or train them to run away.  In that moment when I saw Connor think about heading home without me, I could have tried to go after him, but that would have reinforced Connor's decision to take charge and head out on his own.  I also could have tried to call him to me, which may or may not have worked.  I had been teaching him to come when called and he was doing fairly well at it, but that is human language not dog language and, at 12 weeks, it is still too foreign to him to be really trustworthy.  Had I called him, one of two things would have happened:

1. He would come running to me, which I would have rewarded thus reinforcing his recall.  However, he would not have learned that it is his responsibility to keep up with me and always keep me in his awareness.  He would continue believing that it is my job, not his, to keep track of him.  He may come when called, but he won't feel the need to keep me in his sphere of awareness and that puts all of the burden on me.
2. He would have ignored my call and headed off on his own.  I would either have had to make an attempt at catching him, which would undoubtedly have triggered a catch-me-if-you-can game, or he'd have learned that he can ignore my recall command and head off as he pleases.  Trying to coax or lure him in with treats would simply cement the idea that gets to choose when to listen to me and that he can ignore me if he wants.

If you have an adult dog who cannot be trusted off-lead, it usually stems from one of these scenarios.  The first is much easier to deal with than the second.  Generally, if you can find a safe place with few distractions to allow the dog off-lead, he will pick up on the concept of personal responsibility fairly easily.  The same techniques I used on Connor will work for that dog as well.  The most important thing is to never force the dog to make a decision unless you know he is going to make the right one. 

Once a dog actively chooses to leave you behind, it is very hard to ever get to a point where that dog is really trustworthy off-lead.  Making that decision puts the dog into the second category, which is a dog who has learned that he can go wherever he wants regardless.  He does not feel any responsibility to keep up with you.  

With a dog like this, I would go back to really basic obedience lessons.  I would also try hard to figure out what really motivates this dog, whether it is food, Frisbee, a tennis ball... figure out whatever really gets this dog excited and use that as a reward to teach the dog other skills.  Get this dog into the habit of doing as he is told and make it fun and exciting to do so.  Only then start teaching a really strong recall that the dog will want to do.  Build on that to teach him to stay with you off lead.  Always remember though, that given the right provocation, this dog may choose to blow you off because he has learned that he can if he wants.  Try to avoid situations where this dog will be tempted to make the wrong choice.  You can always teach a dog new tricks, but good luck trying to un-teach them anything. 

Lion Hunting

I was out snowblowing this afternoon, again, knowing it to be a futile task because the insane wind would just blow it all back in a matter of hours.  Also knowing that I had to keep at it or else the snow would pile up in drifts so deep I wouldn't even be able to snowshoe out, let alone drive or even get to the barn.  In that odd sort of sensory deprivation that goes along with such a miserable, mindless job, my mind kept circling around the 'in with a lion...' posts I'd seen or heard this morning and I found myself daydreaming about all the ways I'd like to hunt down and stomp the hell out that lion.

So, this is what winter has reduced me to.  Me, who hates hunting and opposes any form of animal cruelty ruduced to fantasizing about murdering metaphorical lions.  There is just so much wrong with that.

For the first time ever, even Farm Buddy keeps talking about wanting to go to Florida for a week.  Even her unending, chirpy optimism has dimmed and the mutterings are starting to sound an awful lot like red rum, red rum these days.  

Anybody know the best way to do away with lions?

A Complicated Question

Someone asked a bit ago (I'm sorry, I can't remember who it was) if Connor is neutered yet or is going to be.  The answer is not yet, but probably will be eventually - maybe.  I've always been a strong advocate for spaying and neutering and the earlier the better right?  Well, turns out earlier isn't better, not for the dog anyway.

Pediatric neutering (and I use that word for both male and female) has now been proven to have some serious health consequences, especially for highly active dogs, (for a good, easy to read overview of the issue click here).  To reduce the likelihood of serious joint problems, particularly cranial cruciate ligament tears, it's best to wait until the dog's growth plates have fully closed - this generally happens around 12-14 months.  In fact, there are no medical advantages in neutering a male dog. The issue is a lot more complex for females, but it is still best to wait until the dog is over 12 months

Early neutering has also been linked to increased anxiety and fear.  Given that Border Collies are already highly prone to developing phobias, holding off on neutering Connor seems like a good idea.   However, if he starts peeing on everything, trying to hump peoples legs and go chasing off after female coyotes, I'm very apt to change my mind in a big hurry.  Just because there are no medical reasons for neutering male dogs, that doesn't mean that there aren't still a lot of very good reasons for doing so.  Neutered dogs are generally a lot easier to live with, especially if they spend time with other dogs.  I see those more as training issues though, not a question of neutering.  

Nearly all shelters now spay/neuter as early as 6 weeks old and I have very mixed feelings about this.  It is one of the many reasons I ended up NOT getting a shelter dog.  The only puppies that I found available at shelters in this area (which were all Pitt Bulls) had been neutered when they were 6 weeks old and I didn't want that.  However, I fully understand exactly why they do it.  From my own experience in shelter work, I know that if an animal leaves the shelter without being neutered first, it only has about a 1% chance of being neutered later regardless of contracts or pledges.  If those animals are male puppies or kittens, they are almost guaranteed to be returned to the shelter when they are between 6 and 10 months old.  I've seen it happen over and over and over.  I've also seen the boxes full of puppies and kittens that show up a year later.  Which is why I still think all shelter animals should be neutered before they get adopted even while I recognize the hypocrisy of not wanting it for my own dog.

On the other hand, I don't believe that un-neutered shelter dogs are really part of the over-population problem in this area - if over-population is really even the right term for it.  Around here, there is a huge overabundance of unwanted pit bulls and a shortage of anything else.  The one litter of mixed breed puppies I came across at a shelter three hours from where I live had a waiting list with over a hundred people on it.  Those puppies were adopted out within hours of being made available.  Another litter of puppies that had been brought up here from down south by a rescue group were adopted out the same day they got here.  The problem is not a bunch of un-neutered shelter mutts reproducing indiscriminately, it's irresponsible breeders churning out puppies that no one wants.  At the same time, the good breeders produce very few puppies and many have quit altogether because of the stigma attached to breeding. 

There are also some other considerations now that didn't exist until a few years ago.  New techniques such as zeutering are definitely something to consider.  This process renders a male dog permanently sterile without removing the testes.  It generally lowers the level of testosterone production without eliminating it altogether so the health issues of early neutering are not an issue.  The technique is still very new though and, while it makes sense and seems safe, I have no experience with it.  I'd want to learn a lot more about it before trying it on my own puppy. 

So, like I said, it's complicated.  Regardless of when, or if, or how Connor gets neutered, he is NOT going to be running around making unwanted puppies.  He is just five months old right now and it really isn't an issue.  If it becomes one....well, I'll figure it out when, or if, the time comes.