It all started with classic Bugsy - well Bugs-a-duke. The road into the campus is very wooded the further along we went the more excited he got. Sniffing like a madman. So when we arrived on the campus he was fully charged and whining/spinning in the back of the car. I was getting worried, but doing my best to keep a calm demeanor.
A nice young man met us in the parking lot just in time to see Bugsy fly out of the back of the car in full hunt/frenetic/new place mode. The guy looked worried as Bugsy literally pulled me to and fro. At times like this he appears to be a feral animal not a domesticated dog. I gave a strong 'sit' command and without changing his orientation (away from me and the tester) he sat. The young man said, "oh good he knows sit." There was a sense of relief from him but also I could hear the holy crap this dog is untrained and a freak.
Having lept up onto a ledge and headed up some steps Bugsy seemed to know where he was going. Unfortunately he didn't need to go up the fire escape so I called him to me and we entered the building as if shot from a cannon and into an office.
We went through the office to the room where the testing would take place. It was adjoining to a small sitting room that was set up for owners to view the test as it took place.
Bugsy was VERY excited to be in a new place and meet new people. [:|] There were many 'things' in these rooms. None went unnoticed.
It all happened so fast I really have to try and recall how it played out.
The two students looked overwhelmed as Bugsy found treats, both the bags of treats up on a windowsill that was eye height for me and the ones that others had left behind, the male tester was scrambling to collect the treat remnants faster than Bugsy found them which only seemed to spur Bugsy to go faster!
He found the box of toys on the table at the other end of the room, took one out and ripped it open, knocked over a board they use as a barrier, stole the mascot (a black lab stuffy) from the waiting area knocking over someone’s left behind water cup, brought a pen, a clipboard, a magazine, carried the buckets around (used for the test), two large buckets mind you stuck together with magnets, gave fly by kangaroo kisses to them (he goes up on his hind legs and gently licks the person’s face), ate a leaf from a plant in the waiting area and generally caused chaos. He even tried to take some of the tape they had on the floor off and eat it. The two students were in shock.
Heck I knew he’d be excited and curious but even I didn’t imagine the havoc he wreaked. It was absolutely insane. He was everywhere and into everything as the three of us struggled to communicate about the testing. Three pairs of eyes watching him and three mouths agape as he furiously investigated his surroundings with extreme scrutiny and mischief.
I was trying not to panic but I was horrified. My worst nightmare was unfolding before me. Then when he was strutting around with the clipboard, wagging his tail and his entire body a display of mischief, we all laughed so hard we had tears in our eyes. That made me feel better but I was still worried about how he'd do in the test.
I told the female tester who was going to be tasked with holding the leash to take some treats and do a few little commands with him, she did and he did as asked. Ah we are turning a corner!!!
From that point he was awesome.
Throughout the testing the female held Bugsy and the male gave commands and performed the testing.
First up was giving a command, first facing him and then with his back facing Bugsy. Bugsy sat on both occasions.
Then they did a series of challenges with the buckets. There were four buckets which were set into two groups of 2 buckets. Each set of two was connected by magnets, with one bucket facing up and the other facing down.
The male tester would put a treat into one bucket but appear to put one in both buckets, Bugsy would then go to the bucket to get the treat. Sometimes the treats would be placed from behind a barrier so Bugsy couldn't see which one he did, and they varied how they blocked his vision, at times with a small board covering the tester’s hand and buckets and others Bugsy couldn’t see the buckets or the tester. Other variations included changing orientation in the room, adding distractions (like pretending that putting their hand in one bucket hurt) and giving him pointing cues.
The dogs are given 15 seconds to make a decision. They stopped timing him because all his decisions were within 2 seconds, most were immediate.
Due to his quickness they asked to do an additional test so we stayed for that too. In between tests he was allowed to wander again and was sticking his head in all buckets and garbage cans and came to see me and was as happy and I might say pleased with himself as I have ever seen him.
For the second test they had to use particular treats and the person would leave to the office room and come back. He would have a treat and odd objects. Not wholly sure what the challenge was but each time B was released he went and ate a treat, again without hesitation or any evidence of confusion. The final run they used two small plastic garbage cans, he ran up to one knocked it over and ate the treat.
All done LOL.
He loved working for them, it was very interesting to see how intent he was to perform. His behavior once working was excellent. He was exceptionally friendly, took the treats nicely, stayed on task, seemed to understand the ‘game’ without instruction, he would have kept at it until they quit, and clearly wasn’t overwhelmed by the surroundings LOL.
During the break between the two tests the testers were gushing at how well he was doing and how well-behaved he was being (this part was clearly a shock for them). We had a bit of a chat about the opening franticness and how that is HIS normal but once given a task he is focused. It was interesting and I was able to see that they, in no way, thought he'd do anything for them and had not had a dog that went from his 'introduction' to his performance level. They also thought he was under 2 years of age due to his high level of energy.
They said that although it’s a 'lottery' to be used in the tests when a dog performs as well as Bugsy they are usually asked back.
I'm proud of the little butthead LOL It was wonderful to see him work and also exceptionally funny to watch him investigate his new surroundings. I suppose that this was an instance where his curiosity and confidence in new surroundings were huge pluses.
It also was an opportunity for me to see that my suspicions are correct: the boy wants to work, always has and always will. It is a shame I didn’t know more from the beginning perhaps I could have found something for us to do, but to my credit at least I recognized it early on and have tried to utilize it.
Love you Bugsy – you are without question a one of a kind!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
The colder it is
the nuttier he is!!
Its been a cold winter and today is a bitterly cold day with a wicked wind. So what does this mean to the dog with super short hair and a nearly naked belly?
It means WOOHOO lets be crazy!!
Seriously he loves the cold. LOVES the cold.
He's been mole hunting, running laps around the yard, trying to eat the bird's suet block that is suspended 9 ft in the air, & chasing crows
He chased a toy that was falling down the stairs - this is a very hair raising experience. Watching a 105lb dog with a mechanical knee trying to catch a falling toy down the stairs is, well not for the faint of heart.
He's fished for cottage cheese that he dropped into his water bowl - talk about a mess!
He's played fetch with his stuffed goose with me and then with himself when I decided it was too cold outside.
Nothing like watching him tossing it in the air only to stalk it and pounce on it, give it the death shake and start again.
Now he is here trying to prevent me from typing so that I will take him for a run.
And you know I will
LOL
and so does he :)
Later
Its been a cold winter and today is a bitterly cold day with a wicked wind. So what does this mean to the dog with super short hair and a nearly naked belly?
It means WOOHOO lets be crazy!!
Seriously he loves the cold. LOVES the cold.
He's been mole hunting, running laps around the yard, trying to eat the bird's suet block that is suspended 9 ft in the air, & chasing crows
He chased a toy that was falling down the stairs - this is a very hair raising experience. Watching a 105lb dog with a mechanical knee trying to catch a falling toy down the stairs is, well not for the faint of heart.
He's fished for cottage cheese that he dropped into his water bowl - talk about a mess!
He's played fetch with his stuffed goose with me and then with himself when I decided it was too cold outside.
Nothing like watching him tossing it in the air only to stalk it and pounce on it, give it the death shake and start again.
Now he is here trying to prevent me from typing so that I will take him for a run.
And you know I will
LOL
and so does he :)
Later
Friday, January 21, 2011
Life with a bird dog
We won't ever know exactly what mix Bugsy is - he sure seems to have a ton of GSP traits and at times looks like a giant GSP. I will always say whatever he is, he is a bird dog, a pointing or versatile bird dog, not a retriever (although he will retrieve)
I just began reading this book; "Afield: American Writers on Bird Dogs" and when I saw this quote it just rang so true;
"Bird dogs plead with you to imagine the great things you could be doing together. Their delight is a lesson in the bliss of living." Thomas McGuane
That describes my boy to a tee. Heck if you read my description of him on the Daily Zoomie site I talk of his infectious zest for life.
So as far as I am concerned he's just my big old bird dog - obsessed with birds - the bigger the better and all critters large and small.
He awakes he each day with an unmatched enthusiasm.
He implores me to explore the world with him.
Bugsy I enjoy your energy and optimism more than you can know.
Yo mom turn dat TV off and let's go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How could I refuse
I just began reading this book; "Afield: American Writers on Bird Dogs" and when I saw this quote it just rang so true;
"Bird dogs plead with you to imagine the great things you could be doing together. Their delight is a lesson in the bliss of living." Thomas McGuane
That describes my boy to a tee. Heck if you read my description of him on the Daily Zoomie site I talk of his infectious zest for life.
So as far as I am concerned he's just my big old bird dog - obsessed with birds - the bigger the better and all critters large and small.
He awakes he each day with an unmatched enthusiasm.
He implores me to explore the world with him.
Bugsy I enjoy your energy and optimism more than you can know.
Yo mom turn dat TV off and let's go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How could I refuse
Thursday, January 20, 2011
an interesting walk
Not sure if it was due to yesterday's wonderful 60* weather or what but the dogs in the neighborhood were acting strange today.
We live in a neighborhood with a lot of dogs, acre + lots, and lots of natural areas. There are no sidewalks and all the houses are set a good distance from the road. Except for morning rush hour its like walking in a nice large park.
Fast forward to today as we approached our turnaround point - which is near a house with an elderly beagle and a young lab and a shih tzu. The latter has a habit, although not frequent, of wandering, today it was out aggravating everyone. I heard a bunch of dogs barking in that area but couldn't see anything at first. Then I saw the shih tzu, who decided to angrily charge Bugsy, who was busy sniffing.
The shih tzu, clearly upset that his angry agitated barking wasn't being taken notice of, did a lunge and yap yap. Finally Bugsy looked up, body language soft and unbothered, and seemed to say, "quiet down little one" and he went back to sniffing.
The dumb dog kept at him so he went to sniff it and it took off - his brain clearly changed to "rabbit" "chase it!" Scary moment but I was able to divert him and we went back to walking with the dumb dog following and yapping the whole time.
I found it interesting to watch and quite humorous too as the shih tzu seemed so offended that its efforts to agitate were for naught.
About two miles later we passed a house with a grumpy, intact male GSD, it decided to charge us, complete with nervous tongue flicks. He always tries to assert his dominance over Bugsy and there have been some tense times between the two, so when I saw the GSD coming and it ignoring its owner, I decided that stopping and talking to the GSD was my best option.
The GSD was fairly intense but B was calm and his tail wagged. The GSD was growling and trying to put his head over B's shoulder when the owner (7 mos pregnant) came and got him. B then went over to say hello to the owner and her son, sniffed the GSD's butt (who was still growling) and then marked their mailbox which made me and the GSD's owner laugh.
Another neighbor was out running and saw it all. We caught them up afterward and she was laughing but saying, 'whew thank goodness Bugsy is a sweetheart,' that could have been ugly.
That is very true, I was really proud of the beast today, he has returned to the place he used to inhabit which is a comfortable and confident place.
He is master of his domain :)
Good boy Bugs!
We live in a neighborhood with a lot of dogs, acre + lots, and lots of natural areas. There are no sidewalks and all the houses are set a good distance from the road. Except for morning rush hour its like walking in a nice large park.
Fast forward to today as we approached our turnaround point - which is near a house with an elderly beagle and a young lab and a shih tzu. The latter has a habit, although not frequent, of wandering, today it was out aggravating everyone. I heard a bunch of dogs barking in that area but couldn't see anything at first. Then I saw the shih tzu, who decided to angrily charge Bugsy, who was busy sniffing.
The shih tzu, clearly upset that his angry agitated barking wasn't being taken notice of, did a lunge and yap yap. Finally Bugsy looked up, body language soft and unbothered, and seemed to say, "quiet down little one" and he went back to sniffing.
The dumb dog kept at him so he went to sniff it and it took off - his brain clearly changed to "rabbit" "chase it!" Scary moment but I was able to divert him and we went back to walking with the dumb dog following and yapping the whole time.
I found it interesting to watch and quite humorous too as the shih tzu seemed so offended that its efforts to agitate were for naught.
About two miles later we passed a house with a grumpy, intact male GSD, it decided to charge us, complete with nervous tongue flicks. He always tries to assert his dominance over Bugsy and there have been some tense times between the two, so when I saw the GSD coming and it ignoring its owner, I decided that stopping and talking to the GSD was my best option.
The GSD was fairly intense but B was calm and his tail wagged. The GSD was growling and trying to put his head over B's shoulder when the owner (7 mos pregnant) came and got him. B then went over to say hello to the owner and her son, sniffed the GSD's butt (who was still growling) and then marked their mailbox which made me and the GSD's owner laugh.
Another neighbor was out running and saw it all. We caught them up afterward and she was laughing but saying, 'whew thank goodness Bugsy is a sweetheart,' that could have been ugly.
That is very true, I was really proud of the beast today, he has returned to the place he used to inhabit which is a comfortable and confident place.
He is master of his domain :)
Good boy Bugs!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Dear Bugsy..........
why do we have to run up every hill?
why do large birds upset you so?
what factors do you consider before choosing your resting place each night?
Have you ever considered walking up or down stairs?
How does opening the cottage cheese tub wake you from a deep slumber two floors away, yet surround sound action movies blasting away four feet from you have no effect?
What is it about moles?
What is so enjoyable about wandering around in a thunderstorm?
What is with the howling when we go for a walk or run without you?
You know life would be less stressful if you didn't constantly try to predict what was going to happen next.
You will get your 2 meals each day even if you don't come tell me its time.
It grosses me out when you eat cicadas
You would have more toys if you didn't destroy them all as quickly as possible
Lastly, Dear Bugsy, We love you. A lot.
We are so sorry you have bad knees and we will do all that we can to alleviate your pain and get you back to zooming. We know how important zooming is to your affable nature and we enjoy watching you as much as you enjoy doing it. If its time to fix your other knee we'll get it done. asap
Your Humans
why do large birds upset you so?
what factors do you consider before choosing your resting place each night?
Have you ever considered walking up or down stairs?
How does opening the cottage cheese tub wake you from a deep slumber two floors away, yet surround sound action movies blasting away four feet from you have no effect?
What is it about moles?
What is so enjoyable about wandering around in a thunderstorm?
What is with the howling when we go for a walk or run without you?
You know life would be less stressful if you didn't constantly try to predict what was going to happen next.
You will get your 2 meals each day even if you don't come tell me its time.
It grosses me out when you eat cicadas
You would have more toys if you didn't destroy them all as quickly as possible
Lastly, Dear Bugsy, We love you. A lot.
We are so sorry you have bad knees and we will do all that we can to alleviate your pain and get you back to zooming. We know how important zooming is to your affable nature and we enjoy watching you as much as you enjoy doing it. If its time to fix your other knee we'll get it done. asap
Your Humans
Monday, January 10, 2011
Slaying the beast
A few weeks back we met a baby golden-doodle on one of our walks. Although I have some ethical issues with the whole poodle cross craze this is one seriously cute puppy!
We've seen her a few times now out walking and although Bugsy is ever so excited to see her, as soon as her puppy teeth start going after his ears, tail, legs, leash, etc., he moves on - as if to say I have no time for this.
I actually had begun to wonder if his love of puppies was waning. I knew the real test would be off leash.
Fortunately on Saturday we had opportunity to find out and no worries, Bugsy the puppy worshiper is alive and well, LOL.
Once we arrived back to our yard and he was off leash he was my crazy, silly, patient, gentle, puppy-nuts boy.
She became a bit concerned about everything and rushed over and sat with her owner. He play-bowed over and over until she mimicked his play-bow and off they went. She began quite timidly but he encouraged her and she became more and more playful.
Here she is having slayed the beast
It was fascinating to watch. And also loads of fun.
Every once in a while he would just take off zooming - as if to let off steam from having to be so controlled in his play with her.
A few times she tried to zoom with him - now THAT was funny.
When we decided it was time for them to part - she sat and tried to refuse to go and he whined - "no don't take my puppy away!"
I'm sure that it was the first of many play dates.
My boy is very lucky to have so many friendly dogs to play with and so many girls to love!
We've seen her a few times now out walking and although Bugsy is ever so excited to see her, as soon as her puppy teeth start going after his ears, tail, legs, leash, etc., he moves on - as if to say I have no time for this.
I actually had begun to wonder if his love of puppies was waning. I knew the real test would be off leash.
Fortunately on Saturday we had opportunity to find out and no worries, Bugsy the puppy worshiper is alive and well, LOL.
Once we arrived back to our yard and he was off leash he was my crazy, silly, patient, gentle, puppy-nuts boy.
She became a bit concerned about everything and rushed over and sat with her owner. He play-bowed over and over until she mimicked his play-bow and off they went. She began quite timidly but he encouraged her and she became more and more playful.
Here she is having slayed the beast
It was fascinating to watch. And also loads of fun.
Every once in a while he would just take off zooming - as if to let off steam from having to be so controlled in his play with her.
A few times she tried to zoom with him - now THAT was funny.
When we decided it was time for them to part - she sat and tried to refuse to go and he whined - "no don't take my puppy away!"
I'm sure that it was the first of many play dates.
My boy is very lucky to have so many friendly dogs to play with and so many girls to love!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year from the Bugsmeister
Bugsy has given us a wonderful gift one that we knew, but not one that was so evident as it was over the last 24 hours.
Apparently walking your dog every day for over 5 years helps you not only to meet people but to make friends. Good friends.
We live in a nice community that has only two exits so you will be seen out there by the same people and you will walk past the same homes day after day. Everyone waves and I always wave back. I, at times, rue the same ol', same ol' routine; but today I realize how fortunate we are.
You see this New Year's we spent with a variety of people all of which we know because of those daily jaunts with Mr. Social, aka Bugsy.
After going into town for a bit we came back to the 'hood and stopped at a friend's house uninvited. We knew they were home and that it would be fine. It was better than fine and we all appreciated the friendship forged five years ago when Bugsy and their dog were pups. The pups played regularly and to this day have a love/affection/relationship (It looks like love to me but who knows) unparalleled. Unfortunately now they don't play very often but amazingly if her humans visit here he looks for her and when we go there she looks for him. Brought together to play, its always pure joy for the dogs and for the humans who witness it.
Then we went to another friend's - we were invited this time LOL. These are the owner's of Bugsy's current regular playmate. Her owner is out walking about the same time I am most mornings, so we went from walking them together to allowing them to romp off leash in our yard. Now its an every Sunday event. I bet we've known them for nearly 2 years now, and we consider them good friends.
We finished off our New Year's celebrations with a wonderful brunch hosted by another family who we met through Bugsy. Bugsy was a regular play mate for their boxer pup two years ago and time has developed my relationship with the boxer's owner even though health issues for Bugsy and the boxer have all but eliminated their contact.
Many of the guests at the brunch were also residents of the community - some I know by name because they have stopped over the years to say hi to Bugsy and I, others I only know by face and they only know me as the lady with the big black dog.
So Bugsy, thanks mate, and happy new year to you too.
Oh and apologies for visiting all your doggie friends and their humans without you, but please don't hold it against us. We'll be out walking tomorrow too.
Apparently walking your dog every day for over 5 years helps you not only to meet people but to make friends. Good friends.
We live in a nice community that has only two exits so you will be seen out there by the same people and you will walk past the same homes day after day. Everyone waves and I always wave back. I, at times, rue the same ol', same ol' routine; but today I realize how fortunate we are.
You see this New Year's we spent with a variety of people all of which we know because of those daily jaunts with Mr. Social, aka Bugsy.
After going into town for a bit we came back to the 'hood and stopped at a friend's house uninvited. We knew they were home and that it would be fine. It was better than fine and we all appreciated the friendship forged five years ago when Bugsy and their dog were pups. The pups played regularly and to this day have a love/affection/relationship (It looks like love to me but who knows) unparalleled. Unfortunately now they don't play very often but amazingly if her humans visit here he looks for her and when we go there she looks for him. Brought together to play, its always pure joy for the dogs and for the humans who witness it.
Then we went to another friend's - we were invited this time LOL. These are the owner's of Bugsy's current regular playmate. Her owner is out walking about the same time I am most mornings, so we went from walking them together to allowing them to romp off leash in our yard. Now its an every Sunday event. I bet we've known them for nearly 2 years now, and we consider them good friends.
We finished off our New Year's celebrations with a wonderful brunch hosted by another family who we met through Bugsy. Bugsy was a regular play mate for their boxer pup two years ago and time has developed my relationship with the boxer's owner even though health issues for Bugsy and the boxer have all but eliminated their contact.
Many of the guests at the brunch were also residents of the community - some I know by name because they have stopped over the years to say hi to Bugsy and I, others I only know by face and they only know me as the lady with the big black dog.
So Bugsy, thanks mate, and happy new year to you too.
Oh and apologies for visiting all your doggie friends and their humans without you, but please don't hold it against us. We'll be out walking tomorrow too.
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