Dog Toy Obsession

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Baileys New Toy

 

In my last blog, I talked about how it was my obsession to find a toy that Bailey would enjoy and one that he couldn’t shred in a few minutes.  At Last!!  I bought one of the Pogo Plush toys that I mentioned in my blog on Monday.  It is as sturdy as the package says.  I gave the new toy to Bailey, see the video below.

 

 

 

One full day later and see for yourself, the toy still lives!

 

 

Amidst the pile of de-fluffed toys sits one toy that stands out!  It has taken me 2 years to find a toy that would hold up to Bailey’s tough play.  Tell your dog loving friends about this toy and see if you can satisfy someone else’s dog toy obsession!

Bailey and the World of Dog Toys

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Dog Toy Choices

 

I like to buy Bailey stuffy toys especially if they squeak because I know that Bailey loves furry squeaky things.  The problem is, Bailey shreds most stuffed creatures in a matter of minutes.  I have tried stuffed creatures that you put water bottles inside so they crinkle, stuffies with multiple squeakers, heavy duty multiple layered and super stitched toys, you name it, he finds a way to defluff and desqueak the creature.  The dog training instructor recommended trying a bully stick which is a natural option to a rawhide bone to help him with his chewing.  I bought the largest one they had available and he liked it alright! He ate ½ of it in 10 minutes of chewing.  At $15 a piece, you do the math!  Some dog shops have come up with lines of stuffed toys that cater to the type of dog you have.  I have passed on these because I know it would be a waste of money for sure.

It has become a bit of an obsession for me to find a toy that will last more than a day, but Bailey continues to enjoy the toys that he has lovingly defluffed.  I found an inexpensive toy at Mardens called Crunchy Critter by Ruffin’ It.  I got it for $4 so it wasn’t too painful when he bit the squeaker out.  It did take him a few days though!

 My latest find was last night at the trainer’s house.  She brought out a furry critter that has a rubber cage for the interior and a squeaker inside the rubber cage.  Bailey claimed it and it didn’t appear to be shred able!   I might have to try this toy out.  If it works, my obsession might just end with this toy!

                 Bailey’s Loved Toys

 

Dog Waiting for Master

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Do Dogs Wait for Their Masters to Come Home?

I think so!  If you had asked me a couple of years ago, I would have said that I had heard of this happening and even saw a movie that was a true story about a dog waiting for his owner called Hachiko but proof, no.  Not until recently that is!

Bailey often is sitting by a window and looking out it when I come home from work.  I just figured that he was watching the activity on the street or someone out walking a dog.  But a few weeks ago, my daughter said did you know that Bailey goes to the window and he waits for you to come home.  He usually goes and sits for about an hour until I arrive and then he greets me.  I had to take a picture to show you this.

 

           Bailey Waiting For Me

Long before he hears my car…he just knows.  When he sees me drive up, he watches me until he knows that I am coming into the house.  By the time I walk through the door, Bailey is there to greet me.  He doesn’t expect to eat right away.  I do take him outside but mostly he is just waiting for me, at least that is what we have determined and have come to believe.  I had to check this out on the web and up popped story after story of dogs doing this.  Even scientific  studies have conducted to try and figure this out!  I will need to ask my dog trainer about this the next time I see her to get her take on this.

 

Do Dogs Come with Training Manuals?

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Today, I have been thinking about the dogs that I have had and how they were trained.  The first dog, Tinkerbell, was never trained.  As a child, my parents brought home a beagle pup from my uncle’s home.  My 4 sisters, brother, and I fought over who would hold and play with that pup.  As she grew, so did her independence and she would run away from home and we would chase her and bring her back.  She was strongly independent and to my recollection, she never responded to any commands but we loved her none the less.

 

Dog number 2, Kedar, was a lab pup.  We got him when my older daughter was a teenager.  She and I brought him to puppy and dog obedience classes to learn the standard heel and sit commands.  Kedar only wanted to please us and always wanted to be with us.  He could dislocate our shoulder though when we walked because he was strong and very excitable.  Our training instructor told us we should put a choke collar and later a pinch collar on him.  When he pulled while in class, the instructor took the leash out of my hand and pulled so hard Kedar choked, cried, and fell to the ground.  I yelled, you hurt him! and I cried.  Her reply was he’s alright.  This is an example of a style of training that demands obedience.  Not necessarily change but obedience none the less.

 

Dog number 3, Bailey, is lucky that Jessica of The Capable Canine is the one who is helping us train him.  She describes in her Facebook Video that there are two kinds of leaders.  Those that demand change and those that inspire change.  No choke collars, no yelling, but instead an approach that inspires and encourages obedience.  Jessica has shown us that “through our actions” we can teach Bailey to learn.  He says Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

Training Within a Fenced Yard

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When Bailey came to live with us, we had an old fence that was on it’s last days.  Bailey stayed within its confines on a heavy metal run so he could walk around the yard.  Sometimes he was allowed to run in the yard but he was never easy to catch.  Eventually the old fence had to come down and Bailey would longingly looked at open space.  His lead was super strong so we didn’t worry that there would be an escape….. until the day his collar broke.  It took us 1 ½ hours to capture him and let’s say catching a dog that has a mind of his own and is collarless while darting across busy streets isn’t easy.  If there was a positive side to this, it was that we met many neighbors!  It was such a cold damp day and since we ran coatless, we both got sick but were relieved that Bailey was safe.

The next weekend, I was still sick and was looking forward to a day to recover.  With coffee brewing, I went to let the dog into the closed garage area before hooking him on his lead then the unthinkable happened.  I looked up and the side door had blown open due to strong winds and Bailey was gone! Again!!     This time I had a good idea where he would run and run he did for ½ hour.  Thankfully there were lots of dogs that were somehow alerted to a canine on the loose, a network of sorts like the Secret Life of Pets move, and they all were barking at their windows probably saying run for it!!  Bailey ran across a busy street then did an about face and ran back towards the barking.  He ran up the steps of the home of one barking dog and the lady grabbed his collar. Phew! Back home we went.

The next day I got a quote on a fence and within a few weeks it was in place.

 

Training Tips for the Backyard/Fenced Area

  • Fences keep dogs safe from external harm but dogs won’t necessarily obey within the fenced area (mine doesn’t)
  • If your dog does not come, then he is probably not ready yet to handle freedom
  • Always use a positive tone and reward generously with treats
  • If your dog is struggling to obey, look for a way to bring the moment to a successful end so the training experience is always positive.  One way to do this is to ask your dog to do something you know they can do and reward them
  • Save off leash play time for your dog to run with other dogs so that he expends a lot of energy

Bailey and his friend Grace

The below link explains how the long leash works.  It is that little reminder to your dog that you are still in the area and they need to respond to your call and make sure you have lot’s of treats!

https://www.thelabradorsite.com/using-a-training-lead-on-your-labrador/

Lesson on Going to Blanket

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Training with Bailey continues and he is making headway!!  Well I should say, I am learning how to train Bailey.  One of the training tips we have been working on is to always make training a positive experience.  Jessica explained that training a dog with positive reinforcement will eventually result in positive results.  The way to stay patient through the process is to work in baby steps towards the goal.  This week we worked on the command “go to your blankie” Below are the steps:

  • Let dog smell super stinky dog delicious treats while secured on a leash (preferably someone is holding leash of dog)
  • Walk several feet away and lay down bed/blanket and place several pieces of the treats on it
  •  Call dog with command “Come to blankie” and person holding leash handle lets go
  • Dog charges to bed and eats up treats

After Baily did this well a few times, the routine changed

  • Let dog smell super stinky dog delicious treats while secured on a leash 
  • Walk several feet away and lay down bed/blanket and hold treats in your hand
  • Call dog with command “Come to blankie” and person holding leash handle lets go
  • Dog charges to bed and looks for treats and doesn’t find them! 
  • Dog thinks, what do I need to do to get those treats!! I must have to sit!  So Bailey did just that, he sat, and I fed him the treats.

After Baily did this well, the routine changed again.  By the time he got to his bed I didn’t hand him the treats so he thought what do I need to do, I sat and didn’t get the treats, so the natural next step is to lie down on the bed.  And he did and got lots of super stinky treats!

 

I shot a video with an old camera in my backyard.   It is a little fuzzy as I was on the one shooting the video and giving the command but you will see Bailey learning his new command.  In the video, you will see a long lead on Bailey.  It is a 30′ soft leash that is used for training and helps me to have enough time to grab his lease if he gets distracted.  

 

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Bailey’s People Get Help!

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Bailey’s mischievous ways are part cute and part trouble.  Since Bailey would not come when called, we needed help to figure out how to get over this training hurdle.  After looking for a class that would accomplish this, we realized that we needed one on one help with Bailey.  A co-worker highly recommended Jessica who owns a business called The Capable Canine so we contacted Jessica and with Bailey in tow, went for a training consult.  Below is a link so you can learn more about Jessica and her amazing work!

About Jessica Robichaud

Jessica listened to our stories about Bailey and gave us hope that we could train our pup.  One thing that Jessica saw was that Bailey was not food motivated like the majority of dogs.  She recommended that we consider getting some high quality treats when training Bailey and to keep trying until we found some.  She gave us a list of some good ones to try such as Stella And Chewy’s and Happy Howies treats.  Another thing we need to do which requires observation on our part is when Bailey is not doing something that is wrong to catch him in his good moment and reward him.  For example, if he is sitting next to Ernie our cat and not harassing him, we click and reward him with praise and a treat. 

Another thing that Jessica suggested was taking away his food bowl and giving him a Kong feeder.  This gave Bailey a job to do which provides mental stimulation.  I was worried he wouldn’t get enough to eat but he managed just fine.  See the Youtube link below to watch Bailey figure out his Kong Feeder.  We learned much from that precious consult and later went on to join a class.  Jessica is a highly skilled dog trainer and we gladly recommend her!

 

Bailey and Lessons Learned

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Well if I told you all of the things that Bailey has enjoyed chewing on in our house, you might say, hasn’t she learned her lesson yet and doesn’t she ever watch him?  Well I guess the answer must be yes and no to both questions!  Bailey is as much a part of our home as say our cat Ernie. They both get to hang out together in the kitchen and if someone leaves a door open, Bailey ventures to other rooms.  Ernie has been with our family for almost eleven years and Bailey,the new kid on the block, loves to pester Ernie.  Ernie takes it in stride most of the time.  In this picture, he doesn’t seem to care about anything else going on around him. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So a few things that Bailey has eaten…

  • A stretchy footie sock
  • Corner of my hearth rug
  • My favorite pillow edges, he likes tags and binding edges
  • The cushion cover and blanket on the coach in my favorite quiet room
  • A big chunk out of my favorite sheets
  • Walls, molding, and window casings
  • Tags off,well, any he can find
  • His favorite stuffies

                                                                        

 

So you might be asking, what does she do about this behavior

  • Takes him to puppy daycare
  • Go to dog parks
  • Take him on walks
  • Lots of attention

And of course….more training

So we took Bailey to basic obedience classes once he turned one years old.  He was the ham of the class and loved all of his new friends immediately.  He showed off his already learned skills to the amazement of the class:

  • Walk without pulling and the standard heal command
  • See his dog friends but not insist on playing
  • Jump over barriers
  • Sit, stand, paw, and down when asked
  • Walk by his friends without pulling

He was a STAR student.  He was just the picture of obedience until the last day, the day he was to graduate.  The last test was to “Come When Called”.  The instructor would take the leash of each dog, one by one, and the dog would be allowed to sniff a most favorite treat, the dog owner was to go down one path and then another path then call their dog by name to come and give them the treat.  We waited patiently for our turn.  It looked easy… every dog ran to their owner… well you guessed it! until it was our turn!  I called Bailey, they let go of the leash and well Bailey just pranced off to “smell the roses”.  I said to the trainer, see, this is what I have been trying to explain!  She said well, that’s a Chow for you.  He is very independent!  She did however give him a certificate of graduation!!  We went home knowing what we had known all along, this wasn’t going to be easy!!

 

 

 

 

Bailey’s First Year

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The first year of Bailey’s life was much like a growing child.  A bigger body with a puppy brain. 

 

He liked living with us as far as we could tell and we liked that he was a part of our family.  Here is a picture of Bailey in his first puppy crate. That nice little bed he is sitting on is the first of many defluffing projects! 

 

After he de-fluffed that bed, we moved him to a much larger crate without a bed.  We did give him a Kong toy filled with peanut butter and a dog bone to keep him busy though.  The vet told us that he had a dog like Bailey once and it took 3-years before he felt comfortable enough that his dog wouldn’t shred his bed. 

Eventually, I thought that he would be able to graduate to the kitchen area so that he could move around and look out a window.  I was happy to think that life could get a little better for him.  Well it did get better for him,  but it got worse for me.  In one sitting, he chewed up the window sill, wall, and baseboard trim. I put some paint on the wall but that old plaster wall now needs to have some big repairs.  Now you know why I said in my first blog to take notice of the trim of this old house. I guess that in the last 167 years this house has been standing, that no prior owners had a dog like Bailey. 

 

 

We did our best to keep him safe and to remove anything that he might eat.  Along the way he did eat things he shouldn’t have and we dug up plants, removed a hearth carpet and put up baby gates to name a few things. Some of my blog followers asked me to post a picture of Bailey all grown up.  Here is my smiling big fella!    

Bailey’s First Months

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Bailey is a joy and a handful all at once! Within 24 hours he had captured our hearts and eaten a nylon footie sock that he snatched out of the laundry basket.  Off to the emergency animal hospital we all went to make sure the stretchy nylon didn’t tie up his insides.  He was ok but Cha-Ching.!

 

Bailey liked to chew everything including his comfy bed and his cute stuffy toys. His people were sad that they couldn’t dote over him with stuffies.  The one thing he didn’t chew up though was a soft scrap of fabric he lays on today. 

 

 

Our mystery breed mut was strongly independent which we later learned is a Chow breed attribute. He is also extremely gentle and loving which is his retriever side.

 

We enrolled him in puppy training right away. The first of our “train the trainers” classes.  Six weeks later, the little fella graduated. 

 

But his owners still had much to learn.

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