One Million Kisses!!!

.

Sophie - Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier

Sophie is such a sweet girl! 

Like most terriers, she has lots and lots of energy. I started walking her when her mom (human mom) was pregnant. Now Sophie's mom had some trouble keeping up with Sophie during her first pregnancy so she hired Out-U-Go! after Sophie was already a bit sad from feeling neglected. This time, she had us start coming before it became a problem. Now that she has two very young kids to keep up with, she has me come twice a week. (And I'm glad she does!!)

One of the things I enjoy with these visits is that I often get to chat to her mom and the nanny. They're both fantastic ladies! Her mom & I also worked on Sophie's dog reactiveness. Poor Sophie had an incident with another dog attacking her when she was a young pup causing her to become dog reactive. She's fine once she gets to know a dog, but if there is another dog out walking or barking from inside the house, Sophie would become frantic and bark her head off. It would take her a while to calm down after each incident.

So I began using TACT with her. (Hee hee! I totally made that acronym up!)

Treat: If the canine that's getting her riled up is unavoidable, I give her treats until the other pup has passed or we've passed the pups who are inside their houses. I start as soon as I see or hear the other canines. For this to work, it's important to get her attention on me right away and to keep it there. There is a threshold that, once she's crossed it, there's no going back. All I can do is let her bark it out and get her away from the object of her anxiety. I try not to let her reach that threshold.

Aversion: Plain and simple, if the dog(s) can be avoided, I DO IT! Even if it means doubling back.

Coaxing: I'll alternate between a soft soothing voice to calm her and a happy excited voice to distract her. It's important to recognize which voice she's responding to and go with that one.

Toy: Sometimes, Sophie will carry a stick while we're walking. If I can redirect her energy to the stick or a toy and get her focused on that rather than the other dogs, we're golden!

Sophie - carrying her stick

As she's calming down, I shower her with lots of praise. And she's doing so much better! She still reacts, but before she gets to full freak-out mode, she looks at me, as if  checking in, and visibly relaxes once we do any of the above things.

When I go to walk Sophie, there are often people home. They are the nicest folks and I adore visiting with them! But Sophie is often torn between wanting to go for a walk with her favorite dog walker (a.k.a. me) and staying with her people. Like many Wheaton's, she would get anxious (not the best way to start a walk) but then calm down once we got going. At first, I'd use a lot of coaxing and treats and calling, "doggy joggy" as I start jogging myself. This would get her moving, but it was a slow process and I felt bad that she started out so upset.

Then one day, the solution presented itself. Sophie decided not to come over to me and just stood on the couch whining and wiggling her butt. I went over and gave her a few scritches, coaxing her to come down and let's go. Ummmm... no. So I sat on the couch and cuddled with her for about a minute as she covered my face in kisses. Then I got her harness on her and said, "let's go!" We headed out the door and she walked BEAUTIFULLY!! Since then, I start every walk I can with cuddle on the couch. We also end with snuggling... which means I get about one million kisses from Sophie every time I walk her. Hooray!

Stanley, Standard Poodle Extraordinaire

I want to write kids' books about Stanley. 

Stanley knows how to strike a pose

Sit, Stanley! Good boy!

Seriously, I can't recall a visit with Stanley where I don't laugh at least once. He is loaded with Caninality! Clifford & Lassie have nothin' on Stanley!

Last summer, I wrote a quick little entry about Stanley and the Tulips. It was adorable watching this young Standard Poodle delicately sniff the tulips! At that time, I didn't think he could get more adorable than that.

Time for my BELLY RUB

Boy, was I wrong!

We've developed a routine. When I arrive for a visit, Stanley will roll onto his back for belly rubs. He LOVES belly rubs! As long as I pet his tummy for a bit, he lets me put his harness on then he'll jump up ready to walk as soon as I stand.

If it's a windy day out, I better ready myself for an energetic walk. Stanley LOVES to chase! He chases blowing leaves like a knight pursuing dragons. But instead of a sword, he has teeth and that dead leaf will get chomped. He doesn't eat them, he just chews them... until they're soggy and can't blow away. Then he pursues the other leaves that dare to float near him. He will chase birds and butterflies too, but hasn't quite figured out how to fly. Not just yet, anyway.

Stanley as Groucho Marx

Today,  while we were playing in his backyard, I noticed the tree behind his fence was flowering. The wind picked up and suddenly Stanley was surrounded by a million petals. He turned into a whirling dervish with teeth trying to catch them all!

Stanley is also a fan of sticks. He likes to play fetch with them and catch them and he'll even hold them in his mouth like a cigar.  But what he loves best is when we play "Toro, Toro!" I hold the stick out and shout, "Toro, Toro!" and he runs and jumps as I dance the stick away until he manages to grab it from me. He's a smarty and a quick study so he usually gets it.

It's always difficult to leave Stanley 'cause when I pet him goodbye and give him more belly rubs, he gives me nuzzles and kisses.