Yoshi Training Diary - Jan 2005

Feedback is welcome:

Mon Jan 31
So we're back to lots of toy play and with me mostly seated or lying down.  He thinks that's great fun.  I can't step on him then.

Since I know he likes to climb things I took a risk and set up the mini dogwalk that Cathy is loaning me.  I placed him on it and could feel him tense.  So I took him off of it and put Cali over it a few times.  Then he was interested and he went right over it without hesitation.

Just heard that we won the contact trainer that Bayteam was raffling off!  Cool, now if I can just get him to want to use it.

The trick will be to get him used to contact equipment and doing contacts without killing his drive to want to do them.  I've noticed that when I start to make demands on him regarding proper technique, he shuts down.  He didn't used to so it must be something I'm doing to make it less fun.

Sun Jan 30
I'm getting concerned about his sound sensistivity.  Things that didn't used to bother him now do.  He now doesn't like his tunnel (I hadn't tied it down so it moves and sometimes makes noise.  I threw in some treats and he went through it a few time but then stopped and wouldn't go in a all, even if I went in also (maybe even especially that I went in.)

Put the tunnel away and got some ramps out from a dog walk that Cathy is loaning me.  No problem there I braced then against the table and he went right up.  It seems to be mainly sound.  And yet he likes shredding envelopes that have windows made of crinkly plastic.  Guess it's different if he's making the sound.

Took him for a short run, he did ok though still barks at passing dogs though met a lab he liked.

After we got back I took his dinner out to the living room and he ate (hand fed one piece at a time) while I walked around him and picked my feet up (one at a time).  He was leary at first but then was ok.  So I upped the ante and took out the folded up tunnel.  He didn't like that at all and was across the room until I deliberately dropped a piece of kibble on the floor then he came nearer.  I'm sitting on the floor with my arm on the tunnel (which is now in the shape of a tire.)  He would come close enough to eat a piece of kibble and then would back off.  Over time he gradually got closer.

Then Terri came home and he relaxed considerably.  Ok now I'm taking this personally.  With Terri he would get closer to the tunnel (I'm still holding it.) and I would squeeze it with my hand to make a little noise (it's made of nylon so it rustles.)  And though he was leary of it he would get a lot closer with Terri feeding him to the point that he would stick his head through it to get a treat.  Didn't know I was such an ogre.

Wed Jan 26
Went as a tourist to Cali's agility class where he was less freaky but definitely an adolescent and got himself crated in the car twice.  The first time was when we were in the small field by the house fence and Nancy's small dog Toast came out.  This surprised Yoshi and he started barking a growling and wouldn't stop worrying about this strange loose dog who didn't have a person attached.

The second was more worrysome - we were in the big field and walking with Yoshi on a leash.  I was looking one direction trying not to step on Cali and Yoshi came right up to Jake.  Jake doesn't like dogs in his face and barked and lunged a bit.  Yoshi pounced on him instantly for about 1/2 a second and then bounced off and I grabbed him but he definitely wanted to jump back in.  While I've never seen him start anything I would rather he back off and he usually does with dominate females, but not necessarily with boys.  He really needs to be trounced but I don't know if that will help or hinder.  I'm hoping he grows up - right now he's a year and a half going on six or nine months.

Tues Jan 25
Obedience class!  He did pretty well.  Was having a difficult time understanding that this wasn't playtime. but after about 1/2 the class he settled down with Terri.  (I was across the room watching.)  This week they'll be working on sit, stay, some down, and some attention.

Mon Jan 24
Another easy day, just went for a walk with Cali.  He starts obedience class tomorrow.  He's really liking Cali's food to the point that he's refusing to eat his kibble.  He ate a little of it this morning and wouldn't touch it this evening.  It's 10pm and I just offered it to him again and I hear him eating some.

Sun Jan 23
Mellow day for him.  I went and climbed Mt. Diablo.
He still has good toy drive and he tugs well, played with him for a while with some of the intact toys (I have to hide those from Cali).  While he doesn't shred toys he loves to pull the stuffing out of one that already has a hole in it.

Sat Jan 22
Well he's gradually getting back to his usual obnoxious self, though he still has periods where he wants to withdraw, but he's willing to be convinced to be social if we're all sitting down to a movie (meaning he's willing to come out and sleep on one's lap on the sofa).

The great news is that he wanted to actually do something (besides real squirrel chasing) which he hasn't wanted to in a while.  I noticed yesterday that he was willing to play with his toy squirrel but didn't want anything to do with a jump that I then got out (ok fine we won't do that) - though the conspicuously placed tire doesn't seem to bother him and he'll hop through that one his own sometimes.  So this time I went for low stress and took him, squirrel, treats, and clicker into the living room (and took my shoes off as he really dislikes being near my shoes on my wood floor).  We played with squirrel for a while and then I tossed it a little ways and he fetched it (click/treat)!  We haven't worked with fetch in a while so it's really encouraging that he not only remembers how, but seems to enjoy it (Elizabeth says that he used to fetch for them, but I had to teach him when he got here - the Performance Corgis list is talking about how dogs generalize poorly and this is an example).  I tossed squirrel a little further and he brought it right back (c/t).  We did this about 10 times or less and stopped while he was still interested.  Did a little bit of heeling and sitting, but he was starting to get stressed so we stopped.

I've been using some of Cali's W/D canned food to give him his pills.  He likes that a lot.  To the point that he's really taking his time with his kibble, but he does eat it eventually (10-15 minutes. Yes, really.)  I've explained to him that it's a high quality kibble, and that he really shouldn't get hooked on the canned food but I don't think he's hearing me. ;)

I did wind up getting him some Natural Balance Lamb to use as treats and we'll see how this sits in his tummy.  He certainly likes it.

Thur Jan 20
Woke up to barfing puppy dog so he's going to the vet today at 2pm (guess he didn't cost me enough money this week.)  Wouldn't eat.  Wouldn't eat a bagel (remember that's Cali's favorite.)  Would eat some of Cali's W/D canned food.

[lunch] well he's still running around obessing on squirrels so he's not that ill.  He would eat some of his kibble

I need to get more Rollover (actually it's Natural Balance) so I don't overdo the Bil-Jac.  No come to think of it I'll just make some more chicken.

[back from vet]
Well the good news is that he doesn't have Giardia.  The bad news is that it might be Inflammatory Bowel Disease.  I'm hoping that it's just something he ate, or too much Bil-Jac. I sure hope it's not IBD as I'm really enjoying having a dog that I don't have to worry about their diet.  But we know that he's sensitive to too much cheese (Elizabeth's son Chip calls him Flatulo).  Anyway, he has some antibiotics (Metronidazole) that also have an anti-inflamatory effect too.  We'll do that for 7 days and see how he does.

Well I must admit that it's kinda nice having him be this subdued (but it won't last.)

Wed Jan 19
I'm supposed to be in agility class, but was too tired to drive safely.  Yoshi's bloodtests came back normal (liver a very small smidge high but not like last March where it was 143.) So we're back to just observing him for now.  If he doesn't improve then I'll have him tested for Giardia as he was drinking out of some puddles at the dog park and Morgan Territory.  Park Ctr has an in-house giardia test so they'll know quite soon.  Though it may have been too much Bil-Jac also.

[later]
Well in the when all else fails try the obvious.  I took Yoshi out in the back and played with a toy that looks very much like a squirrel.  He loved it.  It doesn't even squeak anymore, but neither do most of the squirrels that he obsesses over.  I even had him jump through the tire a couple of times chasing after it.  Quit after just a few minutes before he got bored.

Stools are looking more normal now (though still a touch soft.)

Tues Jan 16
He's going to the vet for a rabies shot so I had them run a blood panel as well.  He's still subdued, has soft stools, and he's not eating with the same gusto he usually does and I'm wondering if he's not feeling well.

Mon Jan 17
Took him for a walk and he did pretty well except for a barking fit over a small white dog across the street who was posturing a bit at him.  I put the gentle leader on him (after a lengthy "leave it" struggle (though I did manage to keep my voice calm) and the rest of the walk was uneventful.

Had Terri feed him some and walk around him.  She had slippers on and he didn't shrink away as she stepped.  When I took my shoes off I got similar results, so it appears to be the sound of the shoes on the wood floor that he reacts to.

He appears to be going through something of an introverted phase.  Twice this evening he left the living room where we were watching Bourne Supremacy and retired to Cali's crate.  The second time I went and got Yellow Moose (I keep it on a shelf so it stays intact and keeps it special).  He quite happily came out and played with it.  So I have no idea if I should be concerned or not.

Sun Jan 16
Took him running with me.  I was deliberately going slower (jog/walk) for my own training purposes, but he didn't seem to mind too much.  He's still weird about meeting dogs along the path so today I deliberately avoided dogs entirely and praised him for "leave it" - I use a relaxed voice which seems to help.  For the most part he did well, but there was a golden who he really wanted to tell off (the golden was barking at him as well.)  The effort that he puts into struggling with me when he wants to charge at a dog surprises me. though he didn't get away (I had him by the collar.)

Still doing the feed him and walk around him.  He's still concerned that I'm going to step on him, but he seems a little better about it.  He also likes physical reassurance I've noticed.  If I want him to understand that he needs to "stay" then having a hand on him for part of the time seems to help.

Sat Jan 15
Went to the park and I had a black man there say hello to him and Yoshi was fine, so it may have been the grocery bag, or it may have been that the guy was walking by our house.

In the afternoon, all of us went to Cali's tracking lesson.  Yoshi, who has had no training in tracking at all, started to track and even found some food drops that the dog on the track had missed.  Debi says that tracking helps alot with confidence.  Hmmmm, tracking is certainly easier to get to and easier to train at home than herding.  I deliberately hadn't taught him anything to do with sniffing since I was enjoying him not doing so (Cali being such a pain about it), but if he enjoys it, it might be good for him.  (Generally, safer too.)

The chute fabric arrived today so it's laid out in the living room for him to get used to it.  While he doesn't go out of his way to step on it, if I throw a treat on it he will step on it to get the treat.

Fri Jan 14
Went to the dog park at lunch where he got some ya-yas run out.
Before we went to the park, I took him to work so he got lots of exposure to folks.  He barks at Ann who is Chinese and very expressive.  But once she bends down and says hello then he's ok (It migh have been that she was carrying an evil jacket or that she walks in a furitive way).  The other day he barked at a black man who was walking by (he was carrying a grocery bag).  I don't know if race has to do with it, but I need to make sure he meets folks of every race I know.