Training Tuesday: Speaking up

Training is a very important part of a relationship with a dog, especially one who is an adept food thief and an expert at ignoring owners when he feels like it. Training Tuesday is my weekly installment in my adventures with getting a Basenji, a notorious breed for not wanting to listen, to listen to me.  I use positive reinforcement and copious amounts of treats to bribe train Indiana so we can have a healthy relationship and my leftovers will stay on the table.  Advice and commiseration are always welcome because I am no expert.

When I tell people I have a Basenji, their first reaction is either "A what?" or "Those are the dogs that don't bark right?"  As for the second question, the answer is a little more complicated than a lot of people think.  Sometimes, it is assumed that since Basenjis don't "bark" they don't make any noise at all.  This is definitely not the truth.  Basenjis are known for a trademark "yodel" or "singing" because their vocal cords have a slightly different formation than most dogs.  So, they still make noise just not the normal kind, and luckily with Indiana and our apartment situation, not too frequently either.

(This video sums it up pretty well. Skip to :28 for some real rooster Basenji crowing.) 

 

Indiana's name at the Colorado Basenji Rescue was originally Yodel with the tagline "his foster parents have never heard him bark, just happy yodels."  (We considered changing his name to Yoda, but decided we just had to name the dog Indiana.)

We later learned that Indiana's description wasn't quite right, because he does have a bit of a bark. It could be because of the Rat Terrier in him, but he likes short barks for most things and really only sings (or shrieks) when the Husband comes home from work. 

Now, we've been training him to do tricks since we got him and he is smart as a whip when food is involved.  With our trainer recommended "puppy crack," Indiana will try to figure out anything to get a bit.  Teaching him to speak has been my newest goal, after he fairly mastered "shake" and "spin."  This has been a bit of a pickle because of his fondness for silence and his desire to try every trick in the book when he isn't sure of what to do to get food in his mouth.

 So far, I've been able to work with his excitement for treats to get him initially speaking.  Then, I quickly say "Good" and give him a treat.  I've moved onto using a clicker because sometimes I'm too mentally slow to follow up quickly enough with a verbal gratification before his treat.  Indiana will play this game for about ten barks, with plenty of spinning, and then give up.  I'm hoping to have him know a hand signal in a couple of weeks and eventually the verbal command.  I just hope it doesn't backfire and he speaks for everything!

Indiana usually tries to "Spin" or find something to "Touch" to get a treat.

Today in Indiana Misbehaves - This morning, after I cleaned up Indiana's "business" on his walk, I turned around to find Indiana had something in his mouth.  Thinking it a chicken bone, which are constantly littered on the street in my area, I reached into his mouth to take it out.  The offending street munchie was one whole pigeon leg.  The rest of the pigeon was no where in site.

Is that grosser than anything your dog has eaten?

Apparently Kreatively Blogging

It was a great surprise to receive the Kreativ Blogger award from Pup Fan earlier this week (even though the first thing I thought of was the Krusty Krab.)  Make sure to check out the other recipients over at I Still Want More Puppies.  They are worth wasting a little time over!

I put off writing this post because it required me to think of interesting things about myself, which always reminds me of college essays, or worse, online dating profiles.  Which leads me to my first factoid-


1.  My husband was my first date through Match.com.  Yes, when I lived in New York City for graduate school, I decided to give online dating a chance and meet some people in the Big Apple.  Turned out I really only met one, and he was a keeper.

2.  The name Onyx, my black cat, is also the name of a Pokemon, which made and still makes me giggle.

3.   I don't like cheese.  I used to pick it off of pizza, although after living in Italy for a semester, I have been able to get over that.  I never eat it on sandwiches and I eat my mac plain. (The Husband gets the cheese packet to himself.)

4.  I used to own a hedgehog, which is my family designated spirit animal because of the letter "H".  Her name was Briar Rose and she was blind in one eye, so not very friendly.  I wore leather gloves to pick her up, which she hated.  She loved snuffling around the backyard under supervision.

5.  My biggest childhood crush was Batman (from the animated series in the early nineties).  My biggest current crush is Batman.  The Husband is fully aware of this.

6.   I've never been to a band's concert.  (I've been to many orchestral concerts.)  I'm working on getting the Husband to take me to a Coldplay concert.

7.  I wrote my Master's Thesis on the movies of Japanese animated movie director Hayao Miyazaki in case you haven't figured out how much a nerd I am.  (My Master's Degree is also pretty much useless to anyone wondering.)

8.  I keep getting the "Back" and the "Del" button mixed up on my new pc.  (As a previous Mac person)


Now to pass it along to some blogs that deserve it!

Bunny's Blog - She writes great updates about animal activism, in particular related to rescue and shelter animals. 
Chronicles of Cardigan - Corgies just happen to be one of my favorite dog breeds.  (Hopefully getting one next!!)  I can't get enough pictures of  Dewi and Jon  Farleigh in my life.
Dip-Dip and The Bridge - Chihuahuas in adorable sweaters.  Need I say more?
Max the Quilt Cat - Because cat's deserve a shout out on this blog.  And I'm still not sure what a quilt cat is.
My Dog's Love Me - love the url and loves the posts. 
Yes Biscuit - frequent posts about how to better our animal shelter system. So informative and maddening at the same time!
A List of Surprises - Not a pet blog?? Yup.  This girl writes some fascinating historical factoids.  Thoroughly researched and thoroughly interesting.

Recipients!  To claim your prize, post the picture on your blog, write 7-9 facts about yourself (however many suits your fancy!) and pick some more blogs to share the love with! 

I started painting butterflies!

Wordless Wednesday: "You gonna finish dat?"

Might my Dog have Mites?

Today was a very gloomy, overcast day for Denver, the city known for having 300 days of sun.  It has been a very poetic mirror image of my mood.

I finally got around to taking Indiana to the vet today, after a balding spot on his elbow started turning red and inflamed.  I'd had a case of the "Oh I'll wait a week and see if it gets better."  That was about two weeks ago.

A snowy ride to the vet and some nervous throw up from Indiana later, I now know he has localized Demodectic Mange.  Gross. 

The cuplrit

These mites usually live happily in the microscopic ecosystem of a dog's fur and skin.  However, a shift in immune system can lead it to actually harm a dog, making him lose hair in spots and get an inflamed rash.  Usually, it just happens to puppies that have inherited the condition from their parents.  Indiana just happend to hit the Immune System Jackpot, once again.   Luckly, Indiana doesn't have the generalized version all over, where all of his fur would fall out.  I don't think he'd survive being furless in January.  We'd have to get him full body pajamas.

The doctor assured me this diagnosis was actually a good option compared to a bacterial or fungal infection or an unkown allergy condition, which could come up again and again.  Plus, he can't give it to other dogs (or me, the Husband, Onyx or the furniture and carpets much to my relief).  After a hefty bill, I got lots of bad tasting medicine to force feed with peanut butter give Indiana over the next three weeks, till he goes back to the vet to be checked for any straggler mites.  Hopefully that will be the end of it and Indiana will be healthy for a while.  This has been my third vet visit in about five months.  His previous conditions included tapeworms (which manifested in a day of bloody diarrhea and me freaking out) and kennel cough, even though he's been vaccinated against it.  I think he just likes the cookies at the vet's office, even if he does throw them up almost into the vet's lap...

Still recovering from a vet visit.

I've refrained from posting unsettling pictures of dogs with full demodectic mange.  I'm sure you've seen poor dogs with Sarcoptic Mange (the nasty spreadable variety on some shelter dogs.)  The symptoms are very similar.  More information here.