Isaac's Tounge
If Isaac’s tongue could talk it would say “It’s freaking HOT out!” Isaac slept inside last night for the first time in a couple months….it’s just too freaking hot out! Even the blue barrel couldn’t offer protection from the latest climate change…..
We’ve gone from weather only an amphibian could enjoy to a climate scorpions flourish in! Are toads amphibians? Either way I woke up at 4:30 in the morning to Isaac barking like the Russians were invading…..only to find a toad had escaped his chompers and was lounging just outside the kennel. This toad was luckier than his brother who landed in the kennel the other night after a few excited hops. Chomp chomp!
Isaac isn't a racist
Isaac had his first trip out to a soccer game this year (it was in Rockford, IL which can only be describe as the 7th layer of hell). Got yelled at in the parking lot (way in the back of a grass field) for having him off leash. I was playing ball with him to take the edge off before meeting the public and to get him to relieve himself. He took a giant dump as the rent-a-cop walked over to reprimand me (I cleaned it up). I put him on his lead.
There were 3 or 4 little rat dogs running around and he behaved himself. He also got a lot of attention from kids ranging in age from 3 to 14 of Hispanic decent. Kerry will argue that because I’m pointing this out I’m a racist, but this is probably the first time he’s seen ‘brown’ people in mass. He was very well behaved, didn’t steal anyone’s soccer ball, and only licked the 3 year old a couple of times.
He was obsessed with the ball I had in my pocket (even with stuff going on around us) which was good to see. Not just walking around sniffing the ground like his old self, so maybe he’ll work for the ball at the club some day (still not doing any OB with him). He was pushy pushy for it making good eye contact, rooting with his nose, pawing at it, and even barking. Keeping him even more contained than I used to and keeping the ball play down to 1 or 2 minutes have paid off. He’s still has issues and his drive isn’t over the top, but it might just be workable for OB. He sure is maturing slowly….I need to keep that in mind.
The 'i' litter is 1 year old today!
Isaac, Iso, Ink, Irko (aka, Kestrel) are all one year old today and were all at the club this past Sunday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the I litter…..
Training with Isaac has been a challenge and I’m in the process of determining/evaluating what percentage each of the following play into the struggles we’re having
- What he got in terms of genetics
- He’s open and social and probably on the soft side. He hasn’t shown a tremendous amount of ball drive (that could be me), but has high food drive. At the end of last year was doing well with tracking. Can’t and won’t comment on protection because I’m not qualified other than he’s a goof.
- What I’m doing or have done wrong
- It took awhile for me to learn how to play with him, around here he’s average at the club he’s a tard. I plan to keep plugging away until I figure out what works for both of us. Hoping he doesn’t wash out, but realize he may just not have what it takes.
- Is part of it because he’s still not too mature
- He’s coming out a little, yesterday when Rick came over he barked at him (big time) and headed towards him. He’s starting to get a little more territorial instead of just being Marmaduke. He is also starting to ‘push’ me for things.
- How much was squished because he’s also a ‘pet’ though he is crated/kenneled way more than the average pet
- To the rest of the pet owners I know he’s a kenneled and crate dog. To some Schutzhund people he’s probably a house dog. He’s crated at night and all day. He comes out at 3:30 to see the kids when they are home from school and then again around 7 until about 9:30 while the kids and Kerry go to bed. Otherwise he’s out only when he’s working/exercising/or going somewhere with me. I do 95% of the day to day interaction, the only times someone else feeds him or lets him out is if I’m not here. So it’s a balance between house dog and kennel dog depending on what end of the spectrum your on will depend on how you classify it. He also has NO toys other than my toys we play with, just a bone to chew on when he’s laying around at night.
Only time will tell, planning to do a little work in protection later this week to see if it opens him up a little (this wasn’t my idea so I don’t get credit for it). Hoping that he’ll come into his own, Noah vetoed the selling him and starting over option. Not sure a dog with more drive would fit with Noah anyway, if Noah were a GSD he’d be competing at the World level.
Kerry's video request
This is a video I did at Kerry’s request, I’m not sure how responsible it is (Isaac’s getting big and out weighs Noah). Even Noah is beginning to wonder if this is fun anymore (used to be one of his favorite activities). Not quiet as funny as normal because Noah didn’t want to go to the big field.
If the video won’t play try this link
Petsmart's Scale in Batavia SUCKS
I took Isaac to WetNose to pickup some Fromm Surf & Turf and use their scale. On the WetNose scale (which they assured me was accurate) he weighed in at 80.1 lbs which makes more sense.
I’m guessing a chubby kid was playing on the PetSmart scale while his parents were picking out a matching leash and collar for the new family pet. All that to say I’m going to put a tad of weight on him, but I’m not as FREAKED as I was when I thought he weighed 65 lbs (eee-gads).
It's freaking cold
Isaac has enjoyed the snow up until the past couple days. He goes out does his business, eats a little snow, and head right back for the door. When he does try and stay out (when kids are ice skating or I’m shoveling the drive) he does the 3 leg dance. As I type this it’s -6.3 outside…… that’s just too cold!
UPDATE: Just checked weather.com and it’s colder than google claims!
Neal: [riding in back of pickup truck in freezing cold] What do you think the temperature is?
Del: One.
Dog: Woof! Woof!
Neal: Give me the glove.
Neal: Ow! Just nipped. Little part. Ooh!
Del: Give him the goddamn glove!
Isaac's favorite Vet
Isaac’s favorite vet so far is:
Heather Nickel, DVM
Dr. Nickel graduated in 2004 from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. She joined Animal House in December of 2004 with special interests in Internal Medicine, Dermatology, Cardiology, and Ultrasonography.
Dr. Nickel and her husband have two dogs, Addison and Gunther, and a FIV positive cat named Tom.
Dr. Nickel is a St. Charles native and happy to be working back in her hometown.
Isaac's method of drinking
Isaac is no longer this small and he takes his eating a lot more seriously now, but lately this is his method of drinking. Bang the bowl(s) around until they spill, drink off the ground, and then play with the bowls. He appears to be practicing his air-hokey while hydrating! Bark for more H20 and repeat!
Could it be Canidae's fault
So we went to the Wisconsin Dells Fri/Sat/Sun and left Marissa home with Isaac. 12:00 AM Saturday night/Sunday morning Isaac had diarrhea in the crate and then again at 7:00 AM. She called us at 8:00 AM to report there were problems. At about 1:00 she called her Grandma and Grandpa to check him out because he was lethargic. Bob reported he was playing with Stella and looked OK. I told them to pop an imodium down his gullet. He hasn’t had any stool loose or otherwise since I got home at 2:30 PM.
So what is it this time? Had his final round of shots on Wed. and then Thursday night started to transition him to Canidae’s new formula. There was a rawhide bone laying around and it looks like he ate a quarter of that on Friday.
He’s on a 24 hour fast (still gets water) and we’ll start him on rice tomorrow. Here are things that could have caused it.
- Canidae switched his formula
- Shots on Wed
- Half a raw hide Friday
- Teething
- Ate a foreign object
- To much time out in the heat (don’t think this was it)
- Missed Kerry, Noah, and me (stress related)
Will report on the stool consistency tomorrow. Just hope imodium didn’t plug him up too much. I’m leaning towards the fact that Canidae changed it’s formula, we’ve been mixing the old 50/50 with the new (didn’t have enough to transition slower).
Needless to say no training took place this weekend, though there was progress on the North Central Region USA website.
info on the canidae change (not sure how valid any of it is)
Canidae-All-Life-Stage-Dry-New-Formula-Healthy-Dog-Food-Pet-Food-Danger-Guage
Seefido.com dog discussion forum
Diarrhea 'Part deux'
A 2:20 AM this morning in the county of Kane there was a substantial explosion. There were no injuries reported, but the dog room was evacuated due to contaminants in the atmosphere. Again at 7:20 there was an aftershock reported in the backyard of the Duffey residence.
Rescue workers prepared a breakfast of boiled hamburger and rice (there was enough left for dinner). After the initial aftershock there has been no activity. It appears the flow in the sewer has slowed to a crawl.
UPDATE: 24 hours since it last flowed at 10:15 AM on the Forth of July the sewer spewed forth a little waste. Brown gold rolled out in decent form and shape, not 14K but we’ll take what we can get.
"Dad, he just had solid logs"
The phone at work rang at around 12:30 and Noah said, “dad, he just had solid logs”.
So in the AM, mid-day, and evening Isaac had some nice solid turds. I’ll just put a link to the picture this time in an effort to clean up the blog! To see what we were battling check this post.
Today's Training Schedule
Today the only training that occurred was sitz before you go out any door and get in your crate. Was hoping to track, but it just never happened. In reality Isaac crashed in the crate the majority of the day except when he played soccer with Noah. I think Sunday’s trip to the Schutzhund Club and yesterdays walk zapped him.
The beast is still afraid of the lawnmower which is strange because nothing else he has encountered has phased him. The crazy dog even stands on sewer grates (see through) and walks on the bouncy bridge at the park. The shotguns at the gun club didn’t phase him. Maybe he’s afraid I’m going to make him mow.
'A' for Effort
Isaac may or may not ever achieve SchH III, but I think I should get an ‘A’ for effort. Here are a couple of shots of my hand after working him this afternoon. You may ask why. Trying to keep him working in drive of course.
Yep Ivan says teach the dog ‘look’ and teach it where the leg is separately, well it seems like there would be less blood involved. He also mentions something about respecting the hands, it seems apparent I’m flunking his method. On the other hand I will say that Isaac definitely seems engaged, and his poor aim hasn’t flowed over into his daily life (Noah and Bethany’s hands don’t look like this and he still seems safe at soccer games).
So as gruesome as it looks I think it’s working out quite well. Not sure if this was a bit delayed, but just today I started using voice commands with positions. Seems everyone has an opinion as to when to introduce the commands.
Swimming and Tracking are far less bloody endeavorers! Yes he gets corrected for mouthing me at other times during the day (nothing too harsh yet).
Isaac's new method of eating
Isaac has found a new way to entertain himself while eating. Yes I know the video quality sucks, but I’m using my point and shoot still camera and not the actual DV camera.
We'll see how long it lasts
Kerry has allowed Isaac in bed with her a number of times, I captured the latest bad habit on the digital camera. I think as long as his fur is soft and he doesn’t smell, he’s good to go. The first time he smells like a dog it’s back to the floor for him.
Here are a few shots of the wife and the dog.
He even got mud on the comforter one night (and has been allowed back up since). The mud was from his mouth (dirt clog residue from earlier in the night) after he grabbed the comforter. I guess that’s better than Rabbit poop residue!
Isaac's ride home
Picked up Isaac from the breeder (Bill Kulla) on Wednesday (5/7/2008).
When I get a chance I will post video of him screaming on the way home. I believe he had visions of being dropped off at the pharmaceutical company for a little animal testing.
Stopped by PetSmart to pickup a flat collar.
He slept in the dog room while I slept in the basement. He had a few episodes, but eventually settled in until about 2:00 AM when I let him finish the night on the couch with me.
No accidents in the house (yet)!
First Car Ride (This a quicktime video)
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Companies I've purchased products from and have been happy with the products and customer service. (in order of best customer service)
