Luigi

Dobie Friends, Luigi, Raven

Luigi’s First Night in Obedience Class

My PITA BOY is named Luigi.

He is a high-maintenance Doberboy. He’s prone to hurting himself, or getting strange maladies that take a lot of testing and money to diagnose and treat. But he is also a brilliant character, and my best buddy, besides my other best buddies.

I took him to his first obedience class, on Monday, March 17. This was because I need motivation to be on schedule with him, and a class will make me get done what needs to get done. Meanwhile, Monday night was cold and windy. We had to sit in bleachers while the instructor talked about fundamental things regarding showing in AKC shows. Being we’ve been there/done that, we had to busy our minds and selves with something else to keep us warm and stimulated. Luigi is good at helping me with that.

Luigi is a bean. A jumping bean. He couldn’t sit still while the instructor was talking. I had to pet him the whole time and whisper to him how great he is. But he squirmed enough that I feared his falling from the bleachers, so we had to walk down the aisle, back down those stairs, come around the class, and sit on the stairs where the group was. This prevented another big vet bill, I’m sure. Then he had to go up and down the steps, which was another exciting time. I think the boy has ADHS!

Luigi’s been to a vet (a high-priced surgeon) who burned his toenails so short when he was having $2K sugery to remove a bladder stone and what was probably scar tissue near his salivary gland, that even 1-1/2 years later, Luigi’s toenails are still recovering from that botched up job. Yes, I have written a formal complaint to the vet board about that. Over a year ago, and still have not had word on that. Such is justice, or that lack thereof.

I trimmed the toenails that were safe to trim at my lunch break on class day. Even with the small amount I clipped off, he still bled. (I generally Dremel my dog’s toenails, but because of the malformed mess that so-called veterinary surgeon left Luigi’s nails in, I can’t use the Dremel due to Luigi’s nails’ sensitivity.) Because two nails bled, that leaves his nails open to infection. After the surgery, Luigi had such bad infection in his nails that pus oozed from them, so we are very careful to keep them as free from infection as possible.

Because of the possibility of infection, (the rodeo arena is full of interesting particulate on the grounds), after class, I soaked PITA boy’s toenails in Listerine and water. Though I could have chosen eiher iodine and water or a chlorhexadine flush as well. Luigi has a whole medicine chest full of his stuff for all parts of him.

Most recently, I found a lovely rash on his belly. We are working on clearing that up, as well as more fun stuff such as heeling without crabbing, sitting straight, the recall, and the ever-challenging sit/down/stand stays. Luigi’s best exercise is the fetch, which he is master of being he has always loved playing fetch.

And he is learning to jump over hurdles and such.

Luigi’ll do anything, mostly, for a click-and-treat. And he expects to play ball after his training sessions. I do my best to oblige. He is my best PITA son, and I love him dearly.

Helen, Luigi’s mom

Luigi, Training

Sunday’s Goings On

One night late last week, I was ready to shut my eyes and go to sleep, when I heard Annie’s bark. Rather demanding, might I say. She usually sleeps on the floor in the bedroom, so why I heard her barking from another room, I don’t know. Especially being all she had to do was use her legs to walk to our room.

So, I got up and followed the bark. Then I saw what happened. You see, Annie was in Raven’s crate, when I put that little rascal in for the night. Annie didn’t say a word till she saw where the night wind was blowing, and that wasn’t where she wanted to stay.

Here’s the picture I got, half awake, but you can make out the dilemma. Quite amusing.

On Sunday, I found these two green parrot types hanging about in one of my pine trees. I think they are looking to start a family. I know there are some notches in that tree, though not at all sure if that will suffice for a nest. Though I hope it will!

Well, not sure if he was the one, but someone caught and did in a lizzard on Sunday afternoon. Bouchard is the fellow who got to carry it around and show it off. He tries very hard to be a fantastic Big Lizard Safari Guy, but he falls short of bagging the game. Usually, Pippin or Annie makes the catch, then Bouchard and others display it.

So here is Bouchard, with the trophy. He thinks it’s so lovely, he can’t take his French eyes off it.

And we have Raven, who would like to have that trophy. (What’s new?)

The tail gave Baby quite a bit of trouble. She just couldn’t get it to stop wiggling. Eegads!

Luigi put his toy on a dog blanket that was out drying. He barked at it, and when he realized no one was going to fetch it for him, he took action. (Luna was eye-balling it at that point.)

This pair of doves sat in our dead grapefruit tree for quite a while. Even during a mellow rainstorm.

This is a spider that reminds me of a crab! I stay away from them if I can. They make their webs so transparent that if you don’t see the speck in the middle, boink! But they run away from me as much as I do from them. Yet, I’m the one with web all over my face. Yuck!

Here is the sky on Sunday afternoon. We expected something transformational from this, but it was only a few minutes of sporatic big rain drops in our neighborhood, though I think elsewhere, the weather was more phenomenal.

Annie, Baby, Birds, Bouchard, Luigi, Raven

Clicker Training with Luigi

Luigi and I were practicing our pose for when we win a blue ribbon at a future trial. OK, that’s not the reason were were posing, but it’s what I’m gonna tell you.

Hmmm…all my dogs are sleek. I’m not. I’m going to have to do something about that probably.

Meanwhile, Luigi is not only a hard worker. He is photogenic. Here he is fetching a dumbbell.

Here he is jumping.

And landing.

I’m a clicker trainer.

Luigi learned everything he knows in obedience through my click/treat methods. Though when I’m at drill class, I will use a word like “good!” rather than the clicker. The sound of the clicker is not pleasant to everyone’s ear, so why stir the pot? Some people don’t like clicker training for that very reason – the noise of the clicker. But any noise can be the precision marker telling the dog what he is doing at THAT moment is IT! Then the treat follows the marker. It takes practice marking that exact moment. Luigi knows.

On a side note, years ago, the first dog I used the clicker on was Baby. I was so thrilled when my clicker arrived in the mail. I took it, some treats, and Baby straight outside, and tried it on her. Baby, the Queen Mother Diva, did not appreciate my new clicker. The noise of the first click drove her straight through the opened house door, into the bedroom, and onto her bed, which is sometimes my bed. Ewwkay. She’s grown to appreciate the clicking noise since then, especially as our household has grown. Competition does something special to a Diva. Makes them a little more appreciative of their human. Uh huh. But not that much more. Beauty sleep still outweighs getting up when she’s called…unless she wants to.

I carry a very nice treat bag around for clicker training. It is the best one I’ve found. The opening snaps open and shut, so there’s no messing with strings, clips, or other closing mechanisms when you want to get to that treat fast. Good timing is everything in the clicker world. This is a stock photo. The treat is way too big for clicker treating, by the way. They need to taste a treat, not have a meal, as while doing a clicker session, the handler will be doling out lots of treats.

Remember, when the handler doles out treats during training or otherwise during the day, those calories should be considered when doling out other meals. (Note to self: that goes for the human, too.)

I use a humane choke collar when I take my kids off the Fort Doberdale campus to train. This is a collar that can be adjusted to the exact size of the dog’s neck. When the dog pulls, it will not choke him like a traditional choke collar will. This is a stock photo from Coastal, which is the company that makes this particular collar. Others are made with cloth instead of chain. These collars are shamefully not allowed in the AKC obedience rings. Either a buckle collar or a traditional choke collar is allowed there.

Back to Luigi. After he and I finish a training session, he loves playing ball solo with me. That’s the best treat for him. (Baby’s is a Frisbee.)

I like playing ball with my boy, too. There’s something fun about playing fetch with a dog who brings the toy back, just to chase it again. Not all of the FDSP has that innate behavior. <coughBabycoughDivacough> Differences makes the world go ’round.

Baby, Luigi, Training

Toy Time!

I have been getting the message that one of Raven’s favorite toys is getting well worn.

Leissl inspected it after laying it atop a border rock.

Then Raven took it over again and frankly, it had been raining. And when she brought that soggy, well-worn toy into the house, I had to take it and throw it in the washing machine.

Horrors to Raven! Her beloved toy was in that machine again? So I thought it time to break open a new box of these wonderfully strong soft toys. I got a bunch when they were on a good good sale.

(New toys are great, but that doesn’t mean the old ones won’t be put to use after they come out of the washing machine. Like worn shoes that fit right, old toys are comfortable.)

But Raven liked what she saw in that box. Especially the ring.

The ring is Raven’s favorite of all time. She can play tug-o-war best with it. But Luigi had his eye on it, and his name!

As long as Raven had her say, though, that ring was hers!

Meanwhile, Baby looked cute as usual. She is always good for a photo opp. As for these toys, well, Baby says if they’re not flying discs, they’re not toys.

Annie found out she liked the red tube.

Yes, she did.

And Lilian was into the blue fish.

These Tuffies Pet Toys last a long time here at Fort Doberdale, which is a good thing because the Fort Doberdale Squirrel Posse put their toys to work everyday and we need long-lasting toys.

Annie, Baby, Lilian, Luigi, Raven