I'm pickin' Jorah up ..."next weekend"!!

:D  It's happening!  I commented on a friend's facebook "I'm going down to Arizona next weekend to pick up my dog blah blah blah if you wanna come with"  (She does!  Her home is on the way.  WOOW!)  But that's when it hit me...  : o  This is real!  It's not just money going away and researching online, I am going to *get my dog*!!!

Also annoying, my landlord isn't giving me Companion Animal Status yet, despite all of my awesome paperwork, because my doctor used the word "pet" in his letter.  Seriously???  So she's all "he needs to call me to verify that you need an exception", but that man is BUSY, and I bet she just called him once and left it at that.  So I have started trying to reach his office while I'm at work, but so far I'm still not sure if he has called her, despite two messages and emails!  I need to speak to HIM, not his assistant.  And I need to get this resolved before Friday!

Worst case scenario, I bet Jorah could stay with a friend or Poppa's dad for a few days while I fight the paperwork battle.  I'm going to ask for next monday off, and that will give me invaluable time to 1) see my doctor!  2)bond, and maybe move into an awesome townhouse!!!

Yesterday, I made an appointment for Jorah to meet his new Vet on Saturday the 26th (~$40), and that's at... later?  1 I think.  Or 9.  I dunno.  My phone is crapping out on me.  What I forgot is that not only is his puppy class (~$blegh) starting at 11 that morning, but I had made an appointment to meet a groomer! (~$20)  I think I will reschedule on the groomer.  But saturday the 2nd is an agility trial down near salt lake that I REALLY want to take Jorah to!!!  I think that is more important.  So, I may have to just ask Jaren or Jake if they are cool taking Jorah to meet a bath lady, or just reschedule for the 9th.  I wanted the groomer to be my friend Lisa, but she is otherwise engaged for the next few weeks.  So I dunno, maybe the 9th is better for that.  But yay!

My friend lives in Tuba, AZ.  I am going to Flagstaff, and my sister is also coming with, hoping to enjoy herself at the celtic festival, as well as post information/marketing about the Scottish festival that SHE is on the committee for!  It's totes adorbs, they have the dancing fertility god playing bagpipes.  It will be great, sister to help drive, friend to help with gas, we drop her off and she is happy, then go and meet/collect my new dog! There will always be room in the car for everyone.  How it has all worked out so happily.

I must really find Logan work for august, so I can be close to home and play with/train Jorah consistently, while we have a lot of extra time before the school year.

Now to run errands!

PS
Nesting ramped up quite a bit in that last week when my brother and I went on an evening walk, and I saw some "for rent" signs in the town home community we live next to.  Poppa's life plan involves town homes and garages.  I love condos over apartments (even though ours has an awesome amount of square feet.)  We totally want to move into one.  Exclusive togetherness was awesome, but we have money sense and would rather my friend move in with us to keep costs down for all involved.
>>Update: I am currently trying to win my friend over against an unexpected option she already started looking into.

I had a crisis between 1 and 10, two locations open.  We looked at them last night, and I felt more comfortable in #10 for some reason.  Maybe because it was the first one that I saw.  The logic didn't add up.  There are several BIG things that make #1 better.  RIGHT next to: real access streets /street parking, extra lot parking, *the dumpsters!!!*, each bedroom is carpeted, and the ground floor has no carpet (great for a new puppy, me thinks.)  And there were no holes in the garage wall.
Plus, 10's original owners tried to be high end, but left so many finishing details off because, I imagine, their money could not spread across their desired tile, gas stove, etc.  It's just a sloppy execution, closets are unfinished, and their faucets aren't nearly as good.

So this morning, I went and studied them to compare the window lighting, and I took some hard thought imagining how I would arrange our belongings in the living room to make it comfortable.  By the time I left #1, and went back into 10, #10 was now the one that looked backwards and awkward, and since it isn't an end unit, it is much more dark!  So I called, told the people that their doors and keys were locked up, and that We Want ONE!!  Which was news to my boyfriend, ha.

Then, after already paying $50 applying to the Yorkshire home, I found a cool townhouse listed near providence, but its floor plan looks bad ass, very open.  This is selfish, but I hate cooking dinner while Poppa is watching TV, and he either LAUGHS or CHEERS, and I had no effing idea what just happened.  I want to see the TV from the kitchen!  So I will probably try visiting this other realtor company/driving by.  (It's cheaper per month, too.)  At the least, I like having a plan B if we aren't approved.
>>Despite the website hours saying they were open yesterday, sending two forms and trying to call, well, they never got back to me.  Bad sign.  I hate having landlords that are impossible to reach.  But I did crash back to sleep instead of arriving at their office surprise-style, so they may deserve some forgiveness.  But I think I'll just save efforts for if we are not approved for the Yorkshire.

A thought I have had about this space: it has several areas that we can put up a barrier, for Jorah to earn free reign of the property once he has had success with unsupervised bladder control/ signaling in the kitchen, then kitchen + living room, etc.  Our current place is SUCH an open floor plan, that would require a standing fence.

I am wondering about adding a litter box to the patio, so he can just go out and relieve himself, without fouling the "garden" dirt.  *shrug*  would require a large and shallow tupperware.... maybe like the kind that roll underneath beds?  Sounds expensive to set up, so I'm not going there until we are in the trenches.

I also think: "Perfect!  A weed-infested garden strip.  He can dig here.  Waaait, how do I know he wouldn't just dig himself under the fence when we aren't looking?  It already sits an inch above the ground.  Plus, maybe I want to USE that garden dirt in the next year.  (absolutely)
If escape were the only problem, I could probably install my own extra barrier.  But yeah, I like gardens.  I guess we will see how much he loves to dig.  Maybe I could set up some colored dividers, (blue and yellow) and train him to only dig up the right side?  *click* treat+praise. ... "try again"  *click* treat+praise....

Oh, I also am considering getting a pool for him to play in... I was all "can't have it in the patio, that's taking up EVERYONE'S space."  But It just occurred to me that I could park outside in one of the shaded extra stalls, and have the kiddie pool (I saw a plastic one for $15 at K-mart) in my half of the garage.  Just only let him play in it if he is gonna get dried off before coming inside.  Though, hey, if there is a baby gate keeping him in the tiled kitchen while unsupervised, that would work okay to leave both the back and garage door open to his whims.

Now on to paperwork!  My printer wasn't working last weekend.  ...I might know why.  Anyway, full re-install, and then I can scan my Membership Application, and print the CATALYST Companion Animal forms, to fill out as much as possible, then deliver the envelope or scan it to my doctor to sign.  wooow.  I think I'll scan it, providing a version of his letter that says "companion animal" instead of "pet".  *sigh*  it's rough being out of town monday through friday.  Makes me look very forward to the 8th of August.

More awesome sites

I have too many tabs open!  My laptop is going to burn up.  jk, it's a trooper.

Lets face it, links in bookmarks tend to collect cyber dust.  So I'm trying this, and at least my loyal readers will have a chance to taste the joy I just might deny myself.

#1  Sport that involves less effort from me, for those long, cold homework nights:
Nosework!!!
http://www.clickertraining.com/node/3276
http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/getting-started-nose-work

This made me add the folder "dog-games" to my... well, "dog" folder.  And now it seems so obvious...

Here is some articles from a hard nosed dog trainer that reminds me of Clint Eastwood.  PS, his Q&A will crack you up if you wanna see some flame directed at very opinionated guests.
http://leerburg.com/markers.htm  He isn't letting go of shows of authority in warranted situations.

oh zing, he has a library.

I hit his page, because I'm researching about dog rudeness, as Beth mentioned on the phone, and beyond that, protecting myself and my dog from other hostile creatures.  Pepper spray went from musing to seriously considering.  This guy has pictures of nasty bites, and stories about dogs killed by other, uncontrolled brutes.

I need to research/learn how to effectively use treats.  I know they can lose their power.  And I like the idea of rewarding with play, as well.  (It sounds funner to me, for one thing.  And cheaper!  Plus diet moderating is easier...)
I like his writing, it's a good read:

"Dogs don't know how to be good unless we show them."
"You create your dogs value system."
"People don't give birth to a brat!"
“You can feed, water, and love your dog and he will like you, but he very well may not respect you.”
“Dogs know what you know and they know what you don’t know.”

This article details how I establish pack structure with an adult dog. This is especially important with dogs that are predisposed to becoming dominant or aggressive.

...Becoming a pack leader involves adopting the attitude of a pack leader. It does not involve aggression towards a dog, it doesn’t involve rolling him on his back, hard leash corrections or even raising your voice to the dog.

Etc etc.

I'm off to read my tabs!  :)

Looking Up

Material nesting is in regression; not over, but not desperate.

I am perusing different sites' articles about training, doggie behavior models and methods instead of ebay, and it is far more pleasant!  This one is by far my MOST favorite!!!  I will physically relax reading its articles and reading the comments.  "Wow, what a relief not buying anything is!"

As a matter of fact, it was my "activity nesting", if you will, that got me looking at materials again.  Very, very long leads, and bungee cord attachments to prevent serious whip-lash or other injury.  (Then treat bags.  Ugh.  Can't I just use my purse?  Someone mentioned the word "greasy", and that's a good point!  A Good Will purse then?  Haha.  As I write this blog I have not decided on one.)

My thoughts on the 50 foot lead: right now, Jorah is spending the greater part of his day free outside.  Transition to apartment living is gonna be rough, I think that a long lead to take him out to the world with is a great idea.  (Yes, I'll be taking him out in a 6' lead too, but it's not conducive to fetch.)  His wanderlust and my throw-lust are satisfied, as well as assuaging my fear that he'd make a homeward bound for Arizona and end up splattered on the road.  (I have seen two dead dogs on the roadside in the last two weeks, very sobering.)

Natural Dog man (explained later) also claims that a huge lead is the best way to train for the kind of activities that you want a dog to do 'off-leash'.  makes sense.

The suspicion: I'm getting over-excited about something unproven, why spend the money?  Then I go back to the "fetch" idea.  Seems like a good plan of action anyway!

Back to thinky-things.
There are people who think that for you to provide your dog with an outlet for energy through pushing, and tug-of-war (winning) that (with proper timing from you) dog will divert its attention your way when it gets antsy, and through repeated exposure and positive energy-expression and all that, its peace muscle will become strong, and it can stay serene even in high-charged situations.  They say "be like a moose".  It reminds me of this amazing book, 'The Instinct to Heal' by david servan-schreiber, M.D., Ph.D. that was a big part of my lifestyle change back in 2010.  If that did good things for me, maybe this whole Natural Dog thought is good, too.


Then there is the Cesar Milan stuff, that I don't think I need to explain.  The moose man's blog said he thought that ceasar was giving off a "moose" energy more than an alpha one.  That many people mis-interpret what he is saying.

A link to another man's blog said that he thought many people were teaching obedience so early that it is messing up puppies' natural and necessary physiological development that occurs during play.  He isn't saying not to train, but expecting them to always be still is going to turn into problems later in life.  That training never has to happen "still", either.  Making it part of a game is ideal.

So do I sign up for Puppy Kindergarten and take it serious, or just plan on taking my 4 month old (versus 7 to 9, like he says) to a room full of other doggies with shot-certification, and not try to hard?  Seems like that would be counter-productive, to give a command not expecting obedience.  Maybe there is a way to 'make it a game.'  I've never seen these classes.  Guess I had better watch one, or find some youtube videos.


Dog training is officially as convoluted as religion or parenting.

Somehow this lady's blog made me feel hopeful by showing a community of trainers, and even more aware of the dutiful responsibility I am taking on.

phew!  :(  So intimidating.

I think that as long as I stick with a style of positive reinforcement, have the qualities of a good leader regardless of species, and keep boundaries and expectations consistent, that Jorah will turn out alright.  (And socialize socialize socialize!)

There is an agility trial Saturday, August 2nd.  I'm really hoping that I can take Jorah to watch and meet doggies.  Beth said any type of human gathering such as the celtic festival I will meet her at, or farmer's markets, etc, will be wonderful for him.  So I have emailed the people in charge about it.

I thought that the dog park would be a solid place to meet dogs, but now I'm thinking that I should go with a suspicious attitude towards stranger dogs, and a can of pepper spray to protect me and my pup should someone get out of hand.  *I was wandering around SHOPKO a couple of days ago, and found they had pepper spray tubes by the automotive stuff.  weird.  Figured that a spray can in Spices would be cheaper.  I also found a perfectly long roll of the shelving grippy stuff for the back seat of my car!  It looks sharp.  Already I'm happy I got it, because my bags are staying put so much better!!!

PS, I got my nesco dehydrator, and am very excited to cut up chicken or a steak and make jerky!  I will bring it down to West Jordan with me to keep that an option over the week.  I was so exhausted when I opened it last night, that I sort of forgot about it.  Or, no, it was the lead thing.

PPS.  I did some physics to ensure that a lead I'm considering could withstand the impact of a running dog!  It is very hard to find the top speed of any dog besides greyhounds, but I found a cyclist forum, and went with 25 mph.  1) what a difference in force even a half of a second can make!!!  I am SO glad that I am getting this bungee leash to spread out the impulse of his deceleration!

My numbers of the total force on a 60 lb dog's contact point going from 25 miles per hour to ZERO within
0.5  ;    1    ;  and 2 seconds are these:

136.4 lbf  ;  68.2 lbf    ;  and 34.1 lbf   respectively.  SCIENCE!!!

*lbf is lb in the sense of force, versus mass.  The pounds that your scale tells you are lbf, because it would read different on the moon.  F = m*a

2)The Polypropelene webbed rope can totally take the strain. (and if floats)
3) nylon might be nicer on my hands, but gets heavy, weaker, and stretches when wet.  Also, at my internship I just researched a ton about polypropelene, so now I'm really excited to buy it!  It is one of the most recyclable plastics we use!  And I'll know who I can send it to for that if it is ever toast.
5) And even people with nylon should wear gloves with they wanna grab these ropes (vs step on them).
6) If a giant mining shovel uses polypropelene and not nylon in its steel ropes... hey, I'm just sayin'.

PPSS I need to print and fill out my application for Beth!  It will be for Picardi-specific community!