Keeper of Odd Hours

I now know that Willow gets car sick! Ewwww... We packed up the bald dogs and one puff and headed to Grandpas house for Christmas in two cars. While there, I showed everyone how Willow responds to "yeah" (waving hands in the air). She goes nuts with happiness! Willow was very happy with everyone "yeahing" her. LOL it was a kick. But I had to make sure she was praised when she did something good!! Willow and her brother BB did pretty well with the trip. Poor Layah, she only has 3 good legs and had a hard time on the slick floors, so the humans were her hover crafts and transported her where she needed/wanted to be. I had two house/dog sitters. Thank you both! The dogs that stayed home were happy, healthy and the house still standing! On a sad note, my late Mothers 13 year old cat passed away on a rainy Christmas evening. The kids buried Smokey in the back yard. My Dad talked about "Mom" and her kitty in his broken speech. Smokey and Mom are together now. No...

Got sick, throat swollen, congested, don't feel like eating or drinking anything plus my legs almost buckled under me while feeding the dogs this morning. That would have been interesting with dog kibble all over the floor and hungry pups doing the "if it hits the floor it's mine" thing. Can someone knock me out right now?..so much pain in the legs and purplish toes. Every time I heard the heater kick on through out the night I would get out of bed and stand near a vent. The warmth felt good and wold ease some of the pain. Crawl back into bed and let the bald dogs and Simba snuggle up against my legs! How did they know? Layah is usually near my head as is Simba...Cherry Berry likes my back. Maybe I coughed too much so they moved down. The best part! We still have running water...cold water but it's there and can be heated up on the stove or in the microwave!  Yes, the water heater is tossing a fit. At least it's still under warranty and the part is be...

The puppies are now 10 weeks old! Simba their sire's 5th birthday - December 8! ttfn

What's that sign? It's the sign for sit! I had to get used to holding the little flash clicker in my right hand, hold the treat in my left and form the ASL sign for sit! Very, very awkward but doable! I also had Rachel assist with the lesson. Rachel worked the clicker flash while I gave the sit command (much easier this way). When Willow sat I gave the sign and Rachel flashed the light. After a few minutes I was able to wait for her to stand and then give the sit sign and she would sit, Rachel would flash. That went very well. Then Rachel gave the sign. After a few failed attempts, Willow figured out that Rachel can give a sign and a flash/treat happens. Ended on a positive then played "yeah" (the sign for clapping) and Willow went nuts! For the next lesson...will be recapping the sit command and then moving to another room. ttfn

Todays lesson: Recap on what the "flash" means. She has that down! Take it to the next level. The flash will work if Willow has 4 on the floor. (the video clip is on the recap and 4 on the floor..I will try to get the sit on video next) The Sit:  Willow tried so many ways to get the light to flash. She ran around, hit the flash with her nose, jumped and pawed, then sat! Yeah!! Flash and treat! Now she had to figure out what she did to make it work! After a bit she thought she had to sit in a certain spot on the dog bed! Then she sat near me and the flash worked! She tried the dog bed again and near me again...Then she got it! So she just sat and refused to move looking at the flash and waiting! She got a jackpot with that! We ended on a good note! Sorry for the dark video...And I did try to change the music but failed!  ttfn

Clicker (flash) training... Not really a clicker but a little flash light. The key chain type that has a press/release button. No "on/off" switch. It's important  the "flash" is in her line of sight. Some of the big lessons she will learn is "watch me", "come", "sit", "wait", "stay", "leave it"...I know the signs for first 3 in ASL. First Lesson: What does that Flash mean?  Flash = yummy treat! I took Willow into a quiet room (no moving distractions) with dimmed light. She was one crazy puppy! And after a few "flash n treats" she started looking at the flash light then the hand that was giving the treats!  Once she gets the idea, solidly, that the flash means treat, I will start on commands. I used a hot dog cut into tiny bits! Then microwaved till warm, patted with a paper towel to soak up the grease. I tried store bought treats, they are small but not small enough! Willow is maybe 3 lbs;...