Why Spoons Are Great (& a 100 Mile Pact Update)

Dude! We may finally be on to something here! You may remember that in my last post I was languishing the fact that my dog is a Honey Badger when it comes to treats in general. She's got no time for the usual suspects when it comes to high value rewards. Chicken? Pish. Steak? Posh. Stinky cheese? That's ok Ma, you can have it.

So imagine my surprise when we discovered that our secret training tool has been right there in front of us all along! We just didn't know how to use it.

After we ran out of pizza at Monday night's class, I hunted around in our giant bag of dog gear and was dismayed to find that the only food items at my disposal were a half empty mason jar of dry dog biscuits and the jar of peanut butter we use to top off McGee's Kong whenever we stuff it with food.

Enter stage right: spoon. Spoon? Spoon!

Holy bunnies, spoons are awesome for so many reasons I already knew about, but now I have a whole new reason to love them! Did you know that if you load a spoon with peanut butter and hold it just out of your dog's reach, she will do most anything for a scrumptious lick? And not only will this distract her from all other canines, it will also be hilarious to watch her work so hard to please you while simultaneously licking gobs of goo off her cute little dog nose?

We may really be on to something here.

Natural progression leading to McGee's best impression of Crazy Eyes.

It should also be noted that McGee does not care for metal spoons. They get all clickety-clackety on her teeth and freak her out. I'm going to use up some of our stash of spoons-that-come-with-takeout-even-when-you-don't-want-them and then switch to bamboo.

As with any breakthrough, I'm sure we haven't found a cure all for our reactive dog woes, but progress is progress. I'm going to take this as a win and stock up on some JIF. Or maybe something all natural with no added sugars, but I'll worry about that later.

100 Mile Pact Update

Miles Accomplished: 10.44

Miles Left to Goal: 89.56

Days Remaining: 40

A Lovely Cheese Pizza, Just For McGee

When we first began our Reactive Dog training class five weeks ago, one of the first questions the instructor asked was "Is your dog food motivated?" Dog Dad and I simultaneously shook our heads in dismay. Though The McGee does enjoy her mealtimes, no treat seems to be important enough to keep her attention when she is reacting to another dog.

The list of foods we have tried is starting to sound like fodder for a Shel Silverstein poem:

What's in the fanny pack today, Boss?

Chicken Sausage, Spinach, Lamb,
Broccoli Tops and Cubes of Ham,
Hotdogs cut in bite size nibbles,
Ground Beef mixed with Doggie Kibbles,
Zukes, Cloud Star, Buddy Biscuits,
Tortilla Chips or maybe Triscuits,
Parmesan and Sweet Potatoes.
No Dog, you can't have Tomatoes.

I could go on and on here, but you get the idea: this dog is not easily pleased.

We chuckled during our week one class meeting when the gal in charge mentioned that she has seen people resort to ordering a pizza for their dog. Hahaha, isn't that so funny that someone would be that desperate to get their dog's attention?

Knock on wood people, knock on wood. If there is one thing we are learning from this class, it's that when the teacher speaks "hypothetically" or talks about that "1 dog in every billion", she is speaking directly to us. It's like if you were a middle school teacher who needed to address the issue of one kid who really needs to start wearing deodorant, you'd address the whole class so the kid doesn't feel embarrassed and hope that your point gets across. That's us with the pizza.

Yeah, McGee, you heard right. You really need to start taking this pizza eating thing more seriously for the comfort of everyone around you.

So this past Monday evening, we loaded up the car and I sat for the entire hour drive with a pizza box in my lap and a pair of kitchen scissors in my hand. That's right friends, I cut up an entire medium sized Papa Johns pizza into bite sized morsels for my dog. Then I bagged that sucker up and put my Ziplocs on the dashboard to warm over the defrosters. This is what it means to LOVE YOUR DOG.

Overall, McGee wasn't super ecstatic about the pizza like we hoped she'd be. The distraction of hearing or briefly glimpsing another dog was still more powerful for her than the alluring offer of some gooey pizza bites. While all the other dogs in class are now walking from cone to cone in an orderly follow-the-leader fashion in the center of the room, our little crew is still huddled behind baby gates and a tarp in the corner bracing ourselves for any moment that another dog might bark.

Though we don't feed her on class days so that she's extra hungry and ready to focus, McGee still had quite the food baby in her belly when we finished up on Monday night. Keeping her attention for a whole hour with other dogs in the room, as well as pre-class work with her buddy Mr. T, meant that McGee ate THE WHOLE PIZZA. I am so grossed out by this, I can't even tell you.

Since the pizza wasn't the enormous hit we thought it would be, not to mention the fact that I'm worried about the long term effects of letting my dog gorge herself on Papa Johns, I don't think it's an experiment we'll repeat. The good news is that, when we ran out of cheesy, doughy bartering chips, we still had a few minutes of class. In those few minutes, I think we may have discovered OUR NEW SECRET WEAPON. But more on that later...

How do you keep your dog focused on you when other dogs are around? What treats have you found work best?

MWF & D SEEKING PACK

I have always been a big believer in the universe providing what I need, but I also understand that I've got to meet the universe halfway, right? Today I took a leap and did something that I have been mulling over for a long time... I put out an ad on Craigslist.

You might ask, what's so scary about putting out an ad on Craigslist? You're already married so it can't be one of those sketchy singles advertisements...

Nope, it's not. But it may as well be based on the butterflies in my tummy feeling that I'm having right now. Inspired by groups like Chicago SociaBulls  and Seattle WalkABulls and fueled by the desire to meet like minded individuals who are passionate about their dogs, I decided to reach out to my community and see if there is anyone out there who might want to... walk their dog with me and my dog.

I know, super dork.

Are you sure this is a good idea?

The purpose of the aforementioned groups is to give dogs and their owners the opportunity to work on their issues (leash reactivity, shyness, puppy behaviors, etc) and get some exercise in the presence of other dogs. What a concept! I would love to have access to a group like that! With D.C. over an hour away and no sign of any group currently meeting there anyway, I decided that there must be at least a couple of people in my area who could benefit from the creation of a local pack walking group.

Now I just have to find them. And think of a catchy name.

You can view my Craigslist post here. If you or anyone you know is interested in meeting up, please send me a message.

Thank Goodness for Gigantor

Mr. T and McGee right after they met.

One of the more baffling aspects of our little McGee's feisty personality is that, while most dogs put her in a frenzy, she is in dog love with one big fellow: Mr. T. Granted their love sometimes seems a bit one-sided, but I'm going to go ahead and call it dog love even if it sometimes seems like Mr. T does the majority of the loving and McGee plays hard to get. We have spent lots of time reflecting and speculating about this strange situation: why does The McGee love Mr. T and ONLY Mr. T? Here are some of the potential reasons we've come up with:

1. He's automatically part of the pack. When we went to the shelter to pick our little doggie up, T came along. We wanted to be sure that the two of them got along since we spend so much time with T's family (according to family, McGee and T are the dog equivalent of cousins). They were introduced off leash in a play yard and neither showed any sign of aggression. If anything, the reaction we got from McGee was, "You're not very interesting, I'm going back to my dirt hole now."

She likes to sleep in his armpit. He likes to let her.

2. Mr. T is ginormous. Multiply McGee's weight by three and add 40 pounds and that's how big he is. Our mini pittie can easily stand beneath him as though she is inside a dog house made of... dog. Maybe she just instinctively knows that she's too wee to really get the best of him.

3. Or maybe she just knows she's in charge. Mr. T is a marshmallow and McGee is undoubtedly THE BOSS.

4.  Love. T is just about the mushiest, most lovable 190 pounds of animal I've ever met. His mission in life is TO BE LOVED AND TO GIVE LOVE TO OTHERS AT ALL COSTS. Never mind the gallons of slobber that send his favorite people running for rolls of paper toweling, forget about the fact that he cannot fit in any one person's lap, and who cares if you're a tiny (to him) McGee dog trying to pin him to the ground and sit on his head and fart, he will love you just the same and pine for you when you are out of his sight. That's just how he rolls. McGee may have resigned herself to the fact that she cannot escape his unconditional love.

5. She really wants dog friends and Gigantor is the only one who can put up with her antics. There's no denying it, our pup has got no social skills. Seeing her trying to interact with other dogs is similar to when Stitch interacts with humans for the first time: bad news and hilarity, until you realize you just want to cry and yell and WHY DON'T YOU SPEAK ENGLISH FOR THE LOVE OF MONKEYS YOU DOG BRAINED DOG-O-SAURUS REX!!! T's big advantage again here is his sheer size. All he has to do is stay standing and turn his body in circles and McGee has to run laps to keep up. Not to mention how high she has to jump if she wants to be eye to eye with him. Usually it takes approximately 5-10 minutes for playtime to graduate to nap time.


Bed Swap. These two sure nap a lot...

We thank our lucky stars every day for our enormous Mr. T. Without him, McGee would be a lonely, friendless dog indeed. And while T and McGee are no Romeo and Juliet (I'm thinking more Beauty and the Beast with some irony and subversive swapping of gender roles), it is a love story that I am very grateful exists.

Does your dog have dog friends? How do you set your dog up for successful relationships with other dogs?

Ambassadog vs Reactive Dog: Can McGee be both?

Ever since I fell in love with pit bull type dogs, I have dreamt of being the proud owner of an "Ambassadog". In my daydreams, my Ambassadog and I would flit from social event to event. We would run pet friendly 5ks together, she would calmly sip from a bowls of water while I read novels at outdoor cafes, and my stocky little breed ambassador would elicit adoration from all her onlookers by, you know, kissing babies and stuff.

Flash forward to reality. While my blockheaded McGee and I both enjoy kissing some babies, we've got a long row to hoe before we're frolicking light-heartedly in a road race or sipping anything other than a stiff drink. But Dog Dad and I are realistic human beings with reasonable expectations for what our pup can accomplish, right? We try to be.

The McGee is currently enrolled in Reactive Dog class. Our goal for the class is simple: help McGee learn to ignore other dogs. That's it. Not live with other dogs, not play with other dogs, not sniff other dog booties. Just ignore other dogs. Notice a dog, look at a human, get a most excellent treat, carry on with life. Piece of cake, right?

Not so much. Asking The McGee to ignore other dogs is like asking our 5 year old niece to ignore her bag of Halloween candy on November 1st. MUST EAT ALL OF THEM RIGHT NOW...

Last night was our 4th class in a series of 8. The trainers we are working with have been so compassionate and are constantly brainstorming with us to try and figure out what is going on in our little dog's brain. At this stage of the game, our McGee is still working behind her barricade while the other dogs happily munch their treat and watch their owners in full view of the other doggies. It can be challenging to keep your chin up under such circumstances and I often wonder whose confidence it is that we are really trying to build.

We did decide to do some pre-class work with our girl to see what would happen if we dropped the leash and let her approach the fake dog on her own. My heart dropped past my stomach and all the way to my toes as I watched her confusedly pin the fake pooch to the ground. It didn't take her long to walk away, but I could see the adrenaline pumping in her little body and feel hot tears welling up in my eyes.

The fake dog interaction over, we decided to bring a non-reactive, playful dog into her presence and see how she would manage it. Don't worry, our capable trainers took all the appropriate safety steps: two points of leash attachment, 3 experienced dog handlers, lots of space to move around, oodles of super yummy treats, and a muzzle for McGee (insert more tears here). Two different dogs each took a turn, one male and one female. As expected, another dog in her space elicited some of the most deafening sound effects yet produced. The trainer handling McGee spent several minutes working to turn her away from the other dog and help her come into a more relaxed state of mind. McGee couldn't get there and we had to call it quits for the day.

What was the point of all this drama? Well, it was important for us to see what would happen if she ever had the chance to approach another dog on her own. The fake dog gave us that opportunity without putting any other dog in danger. And bringing another dog into her space so that she could see it fully gave our trainers some insight because now they know what we deal with on a daily basis.

Ambassdog? Well, maybe not in the same way that Johnny Justice or Handsome Dan or Wallace the Pitbull have made great strides for pit bull type dogs, but I still believe that all our hard work is cultivating an ambassador for the breed.

Interested in reading more about different levels of dog tolerance? Check out this invaluable resource from the dog savvy folks over at BAD RAP: Undertanding Different Dog Tolerance Levels.

The Astounding Metamorphosis of Dr. Pittie McJekyll

I've wanted to be a dog foster mom since I knew that there was such a thing. I know that I have what it takes to offer a dog patience and stability until the right family comes along. I just didn't know that I'd have to exert so much patience waiting for my opportunity to foster.

You see, sometimes THE PLAN that you have in your mind is not the plan that shakes out. And this is especially so when the dog you adopt turns out to be the dog WITH ALL THE ISSUES.

Now, let me tell you this: The McGee put on a good show for all of her caretakers and the animal shelter and for me as well. She was surrendered with another dog who was her buddy, she was social with her soon-to-be-cousin dog who came for a "let's make sure we get along" visit before we took her home, she was easy going to the point that we nicknamed her Carpet Dog and the shelter staff boasted that she might have a future career as a doorstop.

Oh you tricksy, tricksy McGee. Once she settled into her knew digs and realized that she would be staying for keepers, she morphed from sweet little doorstop into The Real McGee. The Real McGee is like a dog version of Jekyll and Hyde. Or maybe like that man eating plant from Little Shop of Horrors. (She doesn't really eat men at all, don't worry.)

What I'm actually referring to is the worst case of leash reactivity I have ever seen. I'm no animal professional, but I've done a great deal of dog walking at animal shelters and handled all of my family's pups over the years and I've never experienced anything like The McGee.

Imagine this scenario: it's a beautiful sunny fall day and I'm walking with my sweet little Dr. Pittie McJekyll through the neighborhood. She's wearing her snazzy Freedom Harness and her Gentle Leader. Her leash is loose and she glances at me lovingly from time to time to check in and receive a bite of yumminess from my treat pouch. Suddenly, from around a bend in the road there appears that sweet lady from down the road with her big black lab. I glance back over my shoulder to determine my best escape route, only to realize that three houses back the residents have just let their three medium sized barky dogs out into the front yard. Panic sets in as I resist the urge to strip off my sweatshirt and wrap it around my dog's face in a last ditch effort to hold off the impending transformation. Click, treat, squeaky happy voice, click, treat, praise, treat, look, treat, oh no, stare, click, click, treat, smash treats in face, walk faster, staring growing worse, cannot break staring crazy gaze no matter how much beef I offer as a bribe.........nooooooooooooo!!!!!!! And then the screaming. The shrill, Jekyll has left the building and Hyde is in the house sound that melts my eardrums and breaks my heart at the same time. Why can't she understand that this is not the way to gain friends, dog or human? What is wrong with me that I can't communicate stability and make her feel safe at my side? Will this ever get better?

To be fair, we have made some serious progress over the last year. Canine Good Citizen class was a breeze for The McGee. She passed with flying colors. That is, she passed 9 of 10 tests with flying colors. Test 8: Reaction to Another Dog proved too difficult for her to bear, much less pass. And if a dog fails one section, they fail the whole thing. But her threshold is growing. She can walk past many of the neighborhood dogs in their yards without staging a meltdown. She plays happily with her cousin Big T and she is slowly learning that she can earn treats by looking at us when she sees/hears another dog. She used to have the same reaction to cars and that problem has dissolved almost completely.

What is the point of this story? Well, the point is that when we adopted our McGee, I thought we'd give her a good six months to settle in and then we'd be able to foster other dogs. I mistook her initially mellow behavior to mean that she would be an ideal "big sis" when we were ready to open our home to other animals in need. I didn't know that what she was really telling us was, "I'm frightened and my self esteem is low. I'm not ready to show you who I really am, so for now I'll just remain guarded and quiet."

I haven't given up all hope. I still think that, with patience and time, our family will be able to foster. Even if it means that The McGee has to spend all this extra time training us to walk better on a leash.

The McGee

What can I possibly say to describe her succinctly and sufficiently?

Soft bellied and hard headed, The McGee has snarfled and snorted her way into this small family.

You see, she wasn't supposed to be our dog. There was someone else. A puppy with less baggage who I followed from one shelter to another in hopes that she would be my girl. A little bulldog baby who would have been named Frannie. But she had other suitors who were faster than me. I was beaten to the punch. And who can really feel sorry for that? A shelter dog with many options. What a fortunate thing. I think they named her Annie...

So, I decided to peruse the other options available to me that day. I saw Fr/Annie leave the shelter with her new dad and, feeling slightly sad and, let's be honest, a little impulsive, I headed down the row of dogs to see who else might be available. Sucker.

And she was there. Throwing herself upwards and outwards at the kennel door. Crazy faced and giddy with excitement at the idea of getting out and then, once released into the semi-freedom of an outdoor play area, aloof and butt-plunked in a homemade dirt hole underneath a bench without much indication that she'd like to be my friend.

And here we are. One point five years later: me type tapping on my computer keys while The McGee snores her best and loudest snores on the floor next to me. She is wrapped in MY favorite blanket which she somehow adopted after we adopted her. I'm pretty sure she loves my husband more than me. It doesn't really bother me. Not too much.

She is The McGee. The sounds she makes as she sleeps are so human that I can almost imagine they are coming from my dad, asleep in his armchair, remote slowly drifting out of his hand.

But no. I look to my right and there she is. Small and sleek. When she curls up so tight and packs all her chub together, she resembles a sleeping baby hippo dragon pig. I wonder where she hides her folded wings and watch for smoke emitting from her vibrating nostrils.

She is the best dog in my world.