Nights Without School

Sunday night after the shaping class we went back to the little house.  Lyle wasn't there, and Marty fell asleep on the couch, so I got lots of snuggles when he got home.  (We woke her up later.)

Monday night we had H. Bill and his littermates over.  I was VERY excited for them to visit and had to spend some time in my box.  I am teaching them to give me treats.  Maybe if I start them now they won't be as hopeless as Marty when they are grownups.

Tuesday night my great-grandhuman came back, but Navidson did not come with him.  (See, I knew he liked me better.)  I got to hang out with him on Wednesday after the crazies went to work, and then guess what happened?

Not too tough, right?  We went back to school!

Still Shaping

After lunch I was SO TIRED!

We didn't work very hard after lunch, but I still had to pay attention.

It helped that Marty finally figured out that if she doesn't want me to be training her, she should give me a toy.  (This is my raccoon.  Aunt Becky gave him to me.)

I was ready to go home before school was really over, and Marty put me in the car.  We learned a whole lot, but it was exhausting.


I think maybe when Marty is a little better trained, we'll go back and do it again.

Lunch With The Horses

At lunch, Marty took me outside to play fetch.  I've never been allowed to get that close to the horses before!  They smell SO GOOD!

Turning My Head

This is me getting Marty to notice me turning my head.  See (and hear) how many distracting things are going on?!

  

Shaping Up To Be A Long Weekend

After class on Saturday we went to the farm.  NEITHER my great-grandhuman NOR Lyle was there!  Ziggy came up to say hello, but he was getting ready to have a party, so he couldn't stay.  It's probably just as well because I was already EXHAUSTED from training Marty all day.

Sidebar:  You know that cool ball that I chewed up?  Guess what, it came back out.  In pieces.  Marty says I am very lucky that she isn't putting pictures up.  I say, EVERYONE is very lucky!

I took a long nap, and then when I woke up we played some more "give me treats for anything at all" games with a box.  Then I went back to sleep.  Marty was almost as tired as I was.

I had so much fun that Sunday morning I went downstairs by myself and got in the car.  (I have to keep Marty off balance somehow.)

When we got back to school we played the box game AGAIN. (Not the game where the hide meatballs, the game where you can get treats for anything.  I was confused at first too.

Pushing All My Buttons

I don't really know why Marty wants to do this, but this is her trying to learn to give me treats for pushing a button with my foot.  (She calls it "paw targeting", because she is a human and she is crazy.)

 

Shaping

Wow what a weekend.

This is the hardest I think I have ever had to work.  I really thought Marty was coming along as a treat delivery system, but last weekend she just wore me out!  We had to get up before it was even light out and drive all the way to dog school.  (We have never been to dog school on a weekend before.)

We got there before anyone else and we got to play car games for a little while.  That was okay.  Then I got to say hello to Miss Pat and Miss Shirley.  That part was really good.  They arranged the classroom into little blocks.  I have never seen in like that before.  Marty brought my crate in, so I thought we might play Nosework games, but she didn't put my harness on me.  I decided I didn't want to be in the crate.  Pretty soon a lot of other humans and dogs started showing up.

We had to sit in a circle while Miss Pat talked.  I REALLY wanted to go see all the other humans and see what kind of treats THEY'D brought, but Marty said she would give me A LOT of treats if I just stayed on my mat and chilled.  Her definition of A LOT and my definition are not EXACTLY the same, but she got a little better with practice.  Miss Pat talked for a lot longer than she normally does during class.

After that was finally over, we went back to our areas.  Everyone got a partner, and I got Cassie!  Cassie is training Miss Shirley.  (Cassie is very lucky, because Miss Shirley already had already been training with her other dogs before Cassie went to live there, so she is a lot more advanced than my human.)

We played the game with the box again where you get treats for doing ANYTHING.  I had to show everyone how bad Marty is at recognizing me doing stuff.  Everyone agreed she's very bad.

Then we played an even easier game where I try to get Marty to give me treats for moving my head.  MOVING MY HEAD!  That's it!  If I move my head EVEN THE TINIEST BIT she has to give me a treat.  I don't even have to move, I can just sit there.  This is a great game.  I got a lot of treats.  (By the end of the weekend, Marty got so good at it I taught her to say "Look Left" just before I turned my head.)

After lunch (I took a nap during lunch, training Marty wears me out, plus we had to get up really early AND we went in the car) we got our mats out and we were supposed to go lie down on them.  So I did.  Did I get a lot of treats?  NO!  Marty took my mat away and wanted me to go lie down on a piece of paper.  What goes through these humans' brains?  Do they even have brains?  Why would I lie on a piece of paper when I could lie on my mat??  Needless to say, I did not do that.

All the humans were supposed to work on a new trick.  Marty wanted to give me treats for picking up my bag.  I have no interest in carrying my own bag, I have humans for that!  So instead we worked on her giving me treats for putting my head through a basket.  I did that some, but it's a very boring game.

Treat Packing

Friday night Lyle left us again, and Marty spent a LONG time packing up treats.  Her friend Phoebe was visiting, and all they did was talk about treats.  I barely even got ANY.  Marty put them in a special box to keep them cold.

She also packed the car.  I knew right then something was up.

Anzio The Destroyer!

Marty says maybe I need a new nickname.  (Fine by me, I don't really like "Rotten" that well anyway.)  This is what my new ball looked like three days after Ashley and Slade brought it for me.  (The pink part started out inside the green part.)

Guess Who Has a New Human Sibling?

NOT ME!

Thursday night I wasn't feeling very good (probably because Marty gave me bad treats at school the night before).  And, even worse, SOMEone pooped on the floor.  (It was probably the pink elephant again.)  Marty didn't really believe me when I told her that though, so I had to go in the box.  I was not impressed.  I don't even really fit in the box anymore.  And then Marty and Lyle LEFT me, even though I wasn't feeling good and they should have stayed home and taken care of me.

When they got home the pink elephant had not pooped anymore AND they smelled like Luna and a little like Awesome Audrey.  (Marty says they didn't see Awesome Audrey, it's just that all human puppies smell like that.)  I think I am probably happier that I stayed in my box.

Super Dog

Wednesday night we started our next class (surprise, surprise).  It's with Miss Pat again.  I like Miss Pat (because she always has really good cookies), but I wish she lived closer.  

There are four dogs in this class, Little Foot (this is our FOURTH class together), Crystal (we had Nosework classes together, but I almost never got to see her because in Nosework we take turns), and a new dog named Gordon that has his human really well trained.  There were also two guest dogs that came just for the one class.  They're working with Miss Pat for a WHOLE WEEK.  (I am a little jealous.  Maybe when I get Marty better trained we can go for a week.)  They already had their humans trained to do everything, they were just there for practice.  I hope Marty watched their humans because I have to tell you, she definitely has some work to do if she's going to be as good as them!

We are learning to make our humans give us treats for moving their hands.  I think this is great, because Marty will not talk so much!  We're also playing a new game called "One hundred and one things to do with a box."  Marty has to give me a treat for ANYTHING I DO!  It's a really good game to make your humans get better about recognizing small things you do.  I have to go very slowly with Marty because she isn't too good at this game yet.

At the end of class we played a new game where Miss Pat draws a card and we have to get our humans to give us treats for doing weird things.  We were supposed to make them give us a treat for backing up.  All the other dogs got their humans to give them a treat, but Marty couldn't.  I guess we will practic this at home. 

My New Walker

We had new human friends come over for dinner.  They are the best kind of friends, because they brought me a BALL!!  And then they shared their STEAK!  

Marty says that Ashley is going to come and hang out with me on days when Joyce and Nita aren't here, but Ashley says 3000 miles is too long for her to drive just to play with me.  I don't blame her, if I had to be in the car for that long I would probably throw up SIX TIMES!

St. Patrick's Day Dinner

As you have all noticed, St. Patrick's Day didn't start out too well for me.  Marty made me wear her sweatshirt, AND THEN she put that picture up where everyone could see it.  I was home alone plotting my revenge when my great-grandhuman arrived.  I was not expecting him, AND he was not wearing green!  My day got better right then, but it got EVEN better when Marty and Lyle came home from work.

Lyle made steak, Navidson brought Dan over, and we got to HELP WITH THE STEAK!  And my great-grandhuman gave us treats.  (Marty says he likes Navidson better than me, but I know that is a lie.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Marty says today is a big deal.  Aunt Becky says Marty is abusing me.  Lyle says when can we start drinking.

Burgers and Beverages

Thursday night we had humans all over the house again.  None of them brought dogs.  My human puppy friends Brooke and Ashley did come over though.  They gave me SO MUCH cheese!  They should come more often.

I showed the humans my tricks and they were pretty impressed (or at least they pretended to be).

Lyle made burgers for everyone, but I didn't get a burger.  I got a lot of chips and cheese though, and the crazies have promised me that I can help with the leftovers.

Being good for that many humans is exhausting.

Dog's Choice

Wednesday night was the last night of class. (Haha, until next week.  After all, I live with the crazies.)  This was a special class called "Owner's Choice" where we got to choose what to work with our humans on.

Mostly I worked on teaching Marty to give me really good treats really fast so that I walk with her.  I teach her this by going way ahead when she doesn't use good treats or doesn't give me enough.  She got a lot better at this, but she still needs more work when there are distractions.  Just as a test, we went out in the barn during a giant windstorm and let me just tell you, Marty got VERY distracted and didn't give me NEARLY enough treats.  She didn't even notice that the barn was about to fall down around us, so I had to take her back inside very quickly.

We also worked on her remembering to give me a treat when she wants me to give her a ball.  She thinks I should give her the ball for free, and sometimes I let her get away with that.  It's called "intermittent reinforcement".

I got a lot more practice doing my "Bang!" trick, and we started working on Marty putting a treat on my nose.  So far she can almost touch my nose with it, but not quite.  We're going to keep working on that.

I am teaching Marty to give me a treat for "Take It".  That means I put my mouth on something and I get a treat.  Eventually I am going to go ahead and take it from her and carry it around, but she's not ready for that yet.  I have to go very slowly with her, it's not like she's a Border Human.

I really enjoyed working with Miss Pat again.  (Miss Pat is really well trained.  She must have super genius dogs as trainers.)  We got our graduation bags, and mine had special treats AND A BALL!  Obviously, Miss Pat loves me.  Our graduation bag did not have human treats this time.  Obviously, that is a reflection on the relative performances of the different members of the team.  This is Marty's first certificate!  I have gotten lots of certificates (because I am AWESOME), but Marty has never gotten one before, so we all have to pretend to be impressed.

My Last Nosework Class (For A While)

After we missed the class when the house was trying to flood, we went back last week and it was my LAST class!  Haha, did you believe that?  No, of course it wasn't my actual last class, because I have to live with Marty and she is insane.  But it really was my last Nosework class for a while.





We did a practice Odor Recognition Test and I found the box with the funny tree smell!  (Okay, I found it eventually, after Miss Jessica cracked the lid open.  We haven't been practicing very much.)

After that we went outside and looked for meatballs.  You would not believe where meatballs hide!  They hide on air conditioning units.  They hide on WALLS.  They even hide on CARS!  (Finding meatballs stuck to cars is WAY better than having to actually get in the car.)


I am really going to miss seeing Miss Jessica every week (she has known me since I first went to live with Marty and Lyle), but we are going to practice more at home and maybe we will do another Nosework class in the summer.

Weekend At The Farm Without The Crazies

Marty and Lyle abandoned me.  I was left at the farm with just my grandhuman and my great grandhuman.  I have been told that if anything happens and Marty and Lyle can't take care of me, that I am going to live with my Aunt Becky, but that is not what happened.

My grandhuman is not good at fetch, but since she does keep biscuits in her pockets at all times, I am willing to make small allowances.  I tried to teach her, but she had to call Marty and get directions.

And she let me dig a hole to store my ball instead of taking it away and going inside like Marty does.

I got to play with Ziggy THREE DIFFERENT times.  I hadn't seen Ziggy in a very long time, so I was super excited to catch up.  And, my grand human and my great grandhuman went to dinner at his house one night without me, so I got to guard THE WHOLE FARM.  I did not let any meatballs come in!

My grandhuman threw my ball down a hole and lost it.  Then I threw my other ball down the same hole.  Lyle says he can dig them out, but I am not so sure.  More updates on this topic as they develop.

Marty and Lyle finally came home.  They smelled like my other grandhumans and Kyle.  I was a little sorry that I didn't get to go see everyone, but I was SO HAPPY that I didn't have to ride in the car for all that time.

Even though I didn't get to stay with my Aunt Becky, and even though my grandhuman is bad at fetch, she did take good care of me and I had a good time not having to practice for school and getting A LOT of biscuits.  Mr. Tripoli must be a good human trainer.

It WORKED!

Marty and Lyle got up to go to work after school and, as usual, I stayed upstairs in bed.  Usually, they come up and make me come outside to play fetch before I have to get in the car, BUT THIS TIME THEY DIDN'T!

After a while I went downstairs to see what was going on and they were GONE!  My grandhuman was asleep on the couch, so I jumped on her and woke her up and made her take me out. 

This may be the best thing that has ever happened to me.

My Grandhuman Came To School

I was just minding my own business and plotting world domination when the door opened and my grandhuman came in!  Marty and Lyle were not even home!  I waited to see if she had Mr. Tripoli with her, but she did not.

Marty and Lyle got home a little later and we all got in the car and went to school.  My grandhuman didn't sit with us because Marty said she would be too distracting.  We practiced walking around and I had to walk right past my grandhuman and she DID NOT give me a biscuit.

THEN, she practiced greetings with Little Foot, and she gave Little Foot treats!

I WAS SO MAD!

I was SO mad that when we got to the farm after school, I got on the couch with her, and put my head on her computer, and made her give me extra biscuits.

Truant!

Marty let me skip Nosework because she loves me the roads were bad.  It's a good thing she did, because our garage almost turned into a swimming pool!  Something in the wall broke and water started shooting EVERYWHERE! 

I wanted them to leave it (Marty keeps saying she WANTS me to swim!) but they didn't.  They had a new friend come over and he ripped down the wall and fixed it and then fixed the wall.  Now you can't even see where it was.

Maybe next year.

Blind Elephant

I caught my pink elephant looking at me funny, so I TORE HIS EYES OFF!  He won't be doing that again!  Marty says that Mr. Pink Elephant was a "heirloom dog toy".  I say, whatever.  If whatever other dogs knew Mr. Pink Elephant and didn't rip his eyes off, they were probably big wimps, and definitely NOT Chessies.

Cheese Dispensers

I have a new human puppy for a friend.  My friend Brooke that came over to play with me when I was a lot smaller came by and brought her littermate.  I showed them fetch, but they didn't figure out how to do it, so I had to keep getting things for them.

They are VERY exciting and when they bark, it sounds like tiny, very loud puppies.

Here is the best thing about them.  THEY HAVE UNLIMITED ACCESS TO CHEESE!