I almost lost Deuce

We are taking a nice and leisurely hike over the holidays.  Deuce and Rio had made a new friend. Suddenly I see both my dogs clearly taking a scent and off goes Deuce. Poof! Gone. Out of sight. I have boasted confidently in getting Deuce back from pretty much any distraction and this - whatever they scented was a distraction with a 99% success rate.

All it takes is for me to invite him to take the tug toy and distractions be gone. Not too long ago, we were taking another off-leash hike and apparently, a pack of coyotes were having a celebration. Both my dogs noticed this and now Deuce is dashing down the hill hoping to meet-up with his “cousins”.  I am in a state of panic at the prospect of Deuce joining them.  I call him back with the tug.

So, after Deuce is running away from me, I call him back to take the tug to no avail. I then call him back using a verbal cue that also is quite predictable for Deuce recalling back, which is the “that’ will do” phrase I use when we are actually sheepherding (top activity for this Border collie); implying that he must stop what he is doing. Again, no Deuce.  My mind is racing as I think that I lost my dog on the first day of the year.

I decide to walk in the direction where I saw Deuce take off now with Rio next to me on a leash. After about 600ft I turn to find Deuce at the edge of a big drop and on the opposite side of where Rio and I are standing.  I realize then that if he tried to join us he can easily get injured as the drop in front of him is quite a drop and now it all becomes clear to me. Deuce was kind of trapped.

I ask him to stay put not wanting to drop into the wash in an attempt to join us on the other side, and Rio and I walk further down to find a place where we can join Deuce.  He parallels us and once we fond a drop he came rushing to us.  Perhaps more relieved than I was.

I leash him while I tell him what a good boy he is.  No, there is no point in scolding him.

With my dog back to safety, I try to put the pieces of puzzle together: Deuce takes off after something interesting. He hears me calling but now he cannot find a way to get back.

The point then and the lesson that I think people miss sometimes is that dogs can and do get lost on a regular basis. People wrongly assume that their dog will use its nose to find its way back to us.  Well, maybe.

It is also possible that Deuce was not distraught, as he never vocalized in an effort to unite with the group.

After we were all united, we continued our walk with Deuce still on leash.  He has no problem walking next to me. We get to a soft sandy wash and Rio and her new friend are gearing up for some fantastic and energized dog play.  I let Deuce off to enjoy in the game as we watch almost in full silence as these three jump & chase, and stop to catch their breath.

I learned something about dogs in general and specifically about Deuce.  Yes, yes he is a Border collie but still this boy could not find his way back to me. Sometimes we give dogs too much credit as to what they can do, when instead we need to be open to the possibility of something else preventing the dog from coming back to us - as in this incident - or just to be able to carry through with our daily requests.

Joy Meter

I am playing our usual game of tug; whippet and ball retrieve with Deuce and Rio. This combo has become one of our standard games that we play on certain mornings.

The dogs being keen on any visual cue that we are heading to the “soccer-field” begin to jump and run giddy. In the meantime, I take my time trying to gather all that is needed for our little interaction: sunglasses, tissues (bad allergies :( ) hat, water bottle, tug toy, whippet and the big orange ball. The dogs are in their position waiting. Waiting for it all to begin.

As I send my first ball out to Deuce and make the whippet toy come alive, I sense myself smiling BIG. My thoughts turn to how much fun the three of us are having! I call experiences (and awareness) like this [my] joy meter. Not only am I happy to see them happy, it goes beyond that: I am feeling JOY!

I am very interested in pretty much anything that pertains to the brain and the nervous system and because of that I try and read about these two topics on a regular basis.

One of the things that I have learned via different sources is that our brain is “wired” for unpleasant events, fear related events and that we MUST make a conscientious choice of allowing our brain to register positive experiences. The more our brain is “trained” to integrate positive experiences the greater the possibility for making everlasting changes in their neurology. When these changes take place within our brains, we are able to feel more joy… it sounds as if we are bypassing the pre-installed wiring of our brains.

So I am on a mission here: As recommended I stop and make myself express out loud in gratitude for all what is good in my life and life in general. This simple recognition (according to some of my sources is necessary to spend around 5 to 20 sec.

reminiscing with as much detail as possible on the positive experience) so that the experience truly sinks into our “fleshy-brain”.

So, I have carved moments where I take the time to do this: my early drive to boot camp - dawn breaking, late afternoon or dusk, as I watch the day end and when I am playing with my dogs.

I can describe my feelings of joy in quite a few ways, but a salient one is feeling a sense of “balance”- of all being just right! And this leaves me feeling that I need nothing more. As I toss the ball to Deuce I literally feel a warm sensation. Rio is running full blast towards me - sometimes with the tug toy hanging funny from her mouth. Indeed, the joy meter is rising…

There are indeed other instances where my dogs bring me great joy. The trick for me is to pay attention to our everyday interactions as well as them acting just like dogs. I really enjoy seeing how they are individual beings with specific likes and dislikes. I take note of these as well as any diversion from what I consider to be Deuce’s ways or Rio’s.

For example, very rarely will Deuce lie down to sunbathe himself while Rio… but the other day, Deuce was outside in the sun chewing his marrowbone with gusto and Rio surprised me with wanting to go hang out in her crate to chew her own bone in privacy!

I thought I would never live to see this.

As best I can, I try and honor their differences and my self-imposed commitment to treating them as individuals brings me once again great satisfaction or shall I say joy?

Back to Basics

Coming when called is such an important behavior -  especially when certain distractions are present that I am putting on the breaks of letting Deuce run free (off-leash) until he is more keen in giving me his attention – eye contact on a regular basis no matter what is going on around us!

I have found that some dogs are hyper- stimulate by their environment that they kind of truly “forget” that someone actually drove them to the beach or the trail and they would be happy as clams if they could just be dropped-off and picked-up when they are done… many hours later. Not the dog’s fault really, just being a
dog… following their noses religiously, making sure they leave their mark on every single shrub and chasing after anything that moves. The bottom line however is that whatever behavior one reinforces…the more of that behavior will be [come] the “default” behavior. This applies just the same to cracking the difficult nut of having your dog return to you when you want or need him to.

I teach recall classes (come when called) at least twice a year because they are fun, I have a great place to do so and people really know they need to have their dog and them learn the skills to become successful at this. So these days, Deuce is being put through the same program I teach. It also makes me feel good that
I am keeping it real by evaluating where Deuce needs more help and more training AND in moving forward with the training.

What it has been reinforcing for me is that in just two outings he is beginning to “get it”. Now he is beginning to realize that I actually chose the trail and took him and Rio there. I take his glances as his “acknowledgment” that I was the one with the brilliant idea of taking a hike and the one with the clicker, the treats and tug toy.

One of my biggest challenges here is Deuce’s over-stimulation and curiosity of his surroundings that even the best treats are second best. So sticking to a good dose of common sense and learning theory (how animals learn) is of the utmost important. I must very carefully plan our sessions/outings and control his environment to a “t”. In other words: no free lunches until he has been handsomely reinforced for minding me and coming back when called at rocket speed.

As I have expressed in many past blogs, the experience of working with dogs- especially my own becomes a parallel process with my own learning, my flexibility, frustration and yes, elation.

Most importantly, regardless of what I am feeling at the time of training it is super important that I remain focused on the process. This is how we move forward. How we get results. Reminding myself that the process of learning is never just linear (from point “A” to “B” to…) without turns, stops and hills is essential. Sort of two steps forward, one backwards and more discovery and challenges. What I am doing with Deuce is relatively straight-forward: No off-leash romps until… we improve Mr. and click every single time he
choose or I ask him for eye contact, followed by a reward of walk (and explore within the constraints of a longish leash) or a piece of a very tasty and novel treat. Sure enough two outings and his eye contact is becoming a default response… the key to moving forward, investigating and some food.

As Deuce offers this behavior more regularly I call him for a quick recall followed by a quick release… because really, who wants to hang out next to mom when you are young, handsome and restless? So I get it and I let him go.