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Sitka has "toothed" a few people in the face since I've had him. He gets excited and goes in for that aggressive kiss I've mentioned. . Of course, to the victims of his forceful kisses, it's a bite. No one has been hurt more than a surprised, "ouch!” but it's certainly something I monitor closely. . When I ask for details, each one tells me the same thing: "I put my face in his face." . Not only that, but I know they're riling him up with play and verbal cues. . As a knowing dog owner, I want to reply with, "Well, what did you expect would happen?” . I too have made plenty of similar mistakes, before I knew anything about dogs. I'm not here to shame. . What I don't understand is that no matter how strongly I enforce to people who interact with him not to put their face in his face ..they still do it! And I'm left praying to Dog Almighty (yes, Dog), that he doesn't mouth them in the face. 🤦 . How do you handle those uncomfortable situations without making things worse? . #sponsored by @zukespets #Zukespack #livelifeoffleash #letsgozukes
I've been thinking a lot about trust between dogs and handlers lately. On our recent trip, Sitka and I had to trust each other a lot. We haven't been together long, and I'm surprised by how much we put faith in one another already. . Navigating a very steep and crumbly downhill section of a trail while connected to one another. Staying still on a rock while I snap a photo (or a few dozen, let's be real). Remaining in place while I cook dinner or grab something from the car. . It's all about trust. . Sometimes, trust stems from trial and error. "Will he wait until I take my next step before he takes his?” But mostly, it comes from being a team. . As I have with all my dogs, Sitka and I work together all the time. Every single day. Even if I only have a few minutes that day to do some teamwork exercises, we do them. . I've watched other dogs of mine work with my partners and they don't perform the same. They know the behavior perfectly well, but they don't trust that person, or rather, the person doesn't trust them, leading to mistakes and failure to follow commands. . Does your dog trust you? And more importantly do you trust your dog? . How do you build that trust between you?
Palouse Falls is the Washington State waterfall, but free visit because it's located in the middle of the state in the middle of nowhere. . It plunges 198 feet into a deep canyon carved out by the Missoula Floods thousands of years ago. (fun fact, @youdidwhatwithyourwiener studied geology and rattles off lots of fun facts on hikes!). . Most of the"hikes" around the falls are social paths and super sketchy. The thought of walking in them had my knees knocking. One misstep and you're a goner. . It got us taking about how we are a bit braver to try harder hikes when we are together rather than alone. What about you? Are you more willing to try tougher things with a friend or on your own?
A couple weeks ago, @youdidwhatwithyourwiener took me on an exploration of Central and Eastern Washington. . We had intended to travel by van, but the snow gods had other plans, so we packed into her 4 Runner instead. . Sleeping quarters were tight, but somehow we all fit perfectly. The best part was waking up to a weenie in my sleeping bag or falling asleep with a Sitka butt in my face (he kindly gave Jessica his head). . Have you ever traveled with a friend you've met here on Instagram?
We had a little bit of an embarrassing moment on a snowshoe hike this weekend. I had just taken a photo and finished chatting with a couple skiers with whom we had been leapfrogging. I was still putting my things away and letting Sitka sniff around on his long lead, when three new skiers came quietly around the corner and surprised both Sitka and me. . Sitka barked and went to greet the lead guy, jumped up on him, and growled at his ski pole. Flustered, I had to free my hands from whatever I was putting away, find the leash that was buried in the deep snow, and manage not to topple over in my awkward snowshoes. . Sitka, of course, was ignoring me. . "I'm so sorry," I muttered to the guy sheepishly. . "That hurt," he grumbled back. . Sitka had pounced right into his balls. 🤦 . Again, I apologized and asked if he was ok. He said he was and the group continued on. . The whole rest of the hike, I kept thinking about what I wished I had said: That I wasn't that annoying dog owner who just lets their dog approach others on the trail without permission. That I'm not the type of person who doesn't have control over their dog. That I don't think that it's ok for my dog to growl at you or pounce into your balls, or any part of your body. But in my embarrassment and disheveled state, all I could muster was an apology. . I came out of this with two takeaways: . 1) We all make mistakes. Sometimes, even those of us who are not those people with dogs, ARE those people with dogs. Our attention is on something else, hikers appear out of nowhere, the leash is caught on something. It happens to all of us. . 2) I used to be that person. I wanted so badly for Sora to be this amazing trail dog who didn't bother anyone and obeyed my every command, but she wasn't, and it took me some time to learn that and correct my own behavior. . Next time I encounter a similar experience on the trail, rather than go straight to frustration, I might think, "maybe I caught them off guard and the owner didn't have time to react." or "maybe they're a new dog owner and learning." . At the very least I knew better than to say, "It's ok! My dog is friendly!" 😏
I had to run an errand at Greenlake this morning. Greenlake is easily one of the most popular recreation areas in Seattle. . I generally avoid super popular destinations because dog and because people. But I was there, so figured we'd have a walk around the lake. . I was already annoyed with Sitka because he whines non-stop in the car (can't wait to put an end to that behavior) so when we arrived at Greenlake and he went into stimulation overload, I started to feel my heart race and noticed my breath shallow. . "This walk is going to SUCK," I predicted. . And then I stopped, took a few deep breaths, and said we've got this. For three miles, we went on the ultimate training walk. . We practiced heel, swiveling right and left around people and dogs. . We chilled out in place or down when calm dogs walked by. . We walked past unmanaged dogs and gave them space while not freaking out. . We calmy watched ducks play in the water. . We learned that umbrellas, rollerblades, and black garbage bags are scary and so we followed them and walked behind them and sat and watched them. . Sitka did GREAT. . I heard several times throughout our walk, "wow, what a good boy." "What a well-behaved dog." . Nothing makes me more proud of my dog and of MYSELF than hearing those words. . I have a little acronym I use and practice: ABT or Always Be Training. . How do you practice ABT?
Oh, well, ok, Sitka. . Someone is a little enthusiastic for their treats! . Sitka is a rather...abrupt dog. He moves very suddenly and always with a thud or at full force. He has no concept of his body position and I have to be very keenly aware of where delicate objects, like my computer...or my face...are when he's moving. He's the type of dog that could give you a concussion if you're not careful! . Anyone else's dog a bit of a hurricane when they move? . #sponsored by @zukespets #ZukesPack #LiveLifeOfeash #letsgozukes
I took Sitka to one of those mall Glamour Shots places and this was the outcome. . Or... . I got belly deep in snow and played with fairy lights. 😉
For those of you who know me, you know that I do my research. I don't make decisions without weighing my options. I've spent weeks trying to determine which rewards credit card I should get for my business. . When I buy shoes or clothing, I spend hours trying to figure out which is the best brand, doing the least amount of harm. I wonder if it's more sustainable to buy wool and leather, even though I am a vegan. . When it comes to my dogs, I do the same. Which diet is best? Which brands are making the best toys, food, gear? Which training method do I use? . A little over a year ago, I posted about my frustration with Laila. I really couldn't stand her. I just wanted to leave her at home, which is completely contrary to what I advocate: If I go, they go. . In the comments of that post, many of you suggested ecollar training. Like many, I had made assumptions about the use of such a tool, but when I saw comments from so many whom I know love the shit out of their dogs, I began to ask questions. I read books. I watched videos. I talked to trainers. I talked to clients. Dozens and dozens. Hours and hours and hours and hours. . Ecollar training didn't pan out with Laila, but now I have Sitka and I plan to have him ecollar trained with @flashdogtraining. . My choice doesn't mean that I think force free trainers aren't good dog trainers. I know many and support them here and offline. I send friends to them. . It's just not the method I'm choosing. . There is more than one way to train a dog, and you may not like my choice. That's ok. . Here's what I ask of you. Stop judging other's for their choices and pushing your beliefs on them. . If you disagree, ask questions, instead of cast your opinion. At my hippie sustainable business school, we practiced appreciative inquiry. It's a way of asking questions that recognize the best in people and open dialogue for new ideas and discoveries. . Ask leading questions, like "What led you to this decision?" "Why did you decide to make this choice?" "What opinion did you previously have about xxx?" . This is how we learn and how we create bridges, not walls. My challenge to you is to practice appreciative inquiry today.
52 Week Adventure Checklist

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52-WEEK ADVENTURE DOG CHECKLIST

 

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