"We must shatter the mirrors.
We must look in to ourselves and root out the distortions
until that thing which we know in our hearts
is perfect and true,
stands before us."
- Garth Stein, The Art of Racing in the Rain

One of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite books, I thought it went nicely with the picture.

Not only is it meaningful to me and my life, but it also applies to my relationship with Trent in everything we do - our ability to see past the faults and frustrations we face on the surface and instead cherish and love what is inside. Neither of us are completely perfect in every single manner, but this dog is true and perfect for me.

Here's to being thankful for our dogs! It may not be Thanksgiving yet, but I don't need a holiday to feel grateful for Trent

It's Been A While

Regrettably, I have not been keeping up with blogging and ended up neglecting it for the past 8+ months! It's been a busy year for me, but hopefully I will do a better job this time of keeping things up to date.

We did enjoy our summer, and spent most of the time driving the 4-5 hour commute to the beach in Lincoln City, Oregon. It's the best place to take a dog on a hot summer day, but we love it regardless of the weather or time of day. Trent, who at 5 months old would have nothing to do with the ocean, has proven himself to be quite the water dog now. He loves tackling the waves and dunking his head into the ocean, fishing for rocks.

As far as training goes, last time I posted, Trent was 11 months and an unruly adolescent. Now he's 19 months and still an unruly adolescent! But we've definitely improved since and will continue to do so.

Improvements:

- Recall is significantly better! He will no longer tear after dogs when he is off leash, and during one incident where he spotted a cat not too far away (and we all know that Cats Must Be Chased No Matter the Circumstances), I was actually able to call him back to me. He's also allowed to run off leash and once even went "naked" at the beach.

- Cat chasing. He's never been allowed to chase our cat at home, but once outside it's a different story. He has a very low threshold when it comes to cats and his prey drive, and while he can ignore squirrels, small dogs, etc. he cannot pass up a cat dashing across the street. And in a neighborhood where people let their cats have the run of the streets, it can be a safety hazard for Trent, me, and the cats in question. Now, when he sees a cat nearby, Trent's first reaction is usually to turn back and look at me, though sometimes he needs a gentle reminder. But most importantly, he no longer lunges after them like a 90 lb bullet.

- Barking. Trent's no less vocal than before, but now he knows to stop when I say so. He is allowed to bark at people coming to the house, but when I say "enough", he understands it means enough.


Sorely Needs Improvement:

- Reactivity. In some aspects, it's toned down, but in others, it's sky rocketed. He does not bark at dogs walking across the street, and is good at shifting his focus back to me or the task at hand. However, as a young male with a pushy and highly confidant personality, and a general "I'm King of the Hill" attitude, Trent's having problems with other male dogs. He has become exceptionally pushy and snarky with males his size and larger, and any reactive dog that barks or growls at him, he will respond to in kind. He won't go looking for trouble, but he does not want male dogs in his face.

We've mostly decided that the best course of action is to avoid allowing situations to occur where Trent would react negatively. It's doubtful and unreasonable to assume that we'll come to a point where Trent will enjoy to company of reactive dogs or large dogs standing over him or in his face. Instead, we will work to make him understand that in those situations, he is to focus back on me, or whoever is handling him, and walk away instead.

That being said, I would still hesitate to classify this as male on male aggression. Trent is not aggressive towards all males - three of his best canine friends are all males his size, and one of them was intact until recently. He has always been pushy in his play, but has never given me any cause, through his body language and behavior, to believe that there is a problem. He'll share the water bowl, the attention of the humans, and if he's feeling incredibly generous, maybe even that old tuft of dead grass he found laying around! And if I ever feel he's getting too rough on another dog, Trent's out of the game quicker than anything and asked to do a down, stay by my side.

Overall, he's a wonderful dog. As he's growing and maturing, I am seeing the dog he will grow up to become, and hope I can guide him to his potential. He is sweet, loving, and now that he is older, a solid and stable dog with strong nerves and the companion every person should have.

A demonstration of his down, stay.

Can you spot the dog?


Right here! (No idea what the black figure behind him is, it's not another dog, though)

I've a Teenager on My Hands

My 15 lb fuzzy butt baby has officially grown into an 85+ lb mini-tank. He turned 11 months old on the 20th, and I am still having trouble believing that in a few weeks, he'll be a full year old.

Without a doubt, Trent has given me the best year of my life, and everything I've wanted. Loving, intelligent, eager to please, fearless, and loyal. But right now, he's also going full blown teenager on me, which means there are a few attributes we can do without! Yes, the dreaded teen years are here, and hopefully with a fridge full of treats, a new 30 foot leash, a lot of determination and patience, and not to mention a sense of humor, we'll get through this.

"That bad?", you may ask. Not really. I'm exaggerating, but imagine a first time dog owner working with a 85+ lb, overexuberant, very excitable, very energetic, pushy working line teenager puppy. Don't get me wrong - he's nowhere as bad as he was when he was a pup, but since he was easier to handle at 2 months old and since I'm so used to my perfect angel of a dog, it's not going to be easy.

Now that that's established, I'll go ahead and admit I'm a bit excited. Maybe I've gone off the deep end, but I using this as a huge learning opportunity, a way to utilize all the patience and hard work I've learned from dog ownership. Instead of throwing my hands up and saying "forget it, I can't do this", I'm squeezing extra training sessions between studying for finals and working and volunteering. I have robbed the library of most of their dog training and behavior books, and hog them at the book store as well.

Lucky for me Trent is still so positively eager and even more excited to be working with me than I am to be working with him. When we are indoors and practice our heeling, you can see in his eyes, "oh Mommy, Mommy, am I doing this right? Like this? Oh! Change in pace! Oh boy! Oh boy!" When I ask him to "sit", *BAM!* butt on the floor before I finish the command. Even when I don't have a treat in hand or in my pocket, his willingness to learn and please shines through at the worst of times.

I've really come to appreciate this, and hope that by the summer, he'll be ready for his Advanced Obedience class. His trainer has already asked me if we'll be attending, but after a lot of consideration, I've decided he is not ready for the level of concentration and obedience around so many other dogs, especially since they will all be off leash. After all, there is nothing higher on his list of priorities than other dogs.

Wish us luck!