Tasha and Others

Archive for the ‘Tasha’ Category

Today a friend of mine suggested a solution to Tasha’s lack of attention when I call her to come. Blow a whistle, and when she comes, give her a piece of a hot dog. Simple. So I went out today and bought hot dogs. I’d never bought them before. I was prettty sure Tasha would eat any kind, so I went for the cheapest things that looked like what I know of hot dogs.

I came home, and with a piece of hot dog in hand, made Tasha sit. I then made her stay, went into the next room, and called her to come. She did all three things expertly, so I gave her the hot dog. Wow! She went nuts. For a dog that never gets people food, she was more than excited. I tried it again. Made her sit, stay, and then called her from a distance. Again, she behaved with perfection.

Now all I need is the whistle so when she’s outside and I call her she’ll relate the loud noise with the treat. Hopefully, this will solve the problem of the disappearing dog when Tasha goes with me outside. The Pavlovian approach wins!

The toy “Kong” is supposed to be indestructable. Not true! Tasha chewed hers into bits.

There was peanut butter in it, for one thing. I had been worried that Tasha was suffering from separation anxiety. She gets so upset when I go anywhere without her. So, following some advice, I gave Tasha the Kong, thinking that she would associate the sturdy toy with some fun while I was gone. But Tasha ate the Kong along with the peanut butter in the middle.

I wish I had taken a picture of the pieces of red rubber that were scattered all about. They were in the middle of a pile of dirt from a mud-covered bone that Tasha had dragged in. The stair landing was a doggie mess! I don’t know if there’s any toy that Tasha couldn’t get her teeth into.

I heard that you’re not supposed to leave a dog with anything that they can chew into little bits. Well, guess I messed up on that one. Next, the Galileo bone…

I can’t believe that it’s been a month since I’ve written in here. I’m home now and with Tasha again. She stays by me when I write, and she follows me around the house. Some would say that she’s a good candidate for separation anxiety.

I don’t do the right things. I tell her that I’ll “be right back” when I leave her. I don’t think she believes me. And when I come home, I’m as excited as she is. I’m not supposed to act as if I’m leaving when I’m going out or show much emotion when I walk in the door.

I just wrote an article for Dogspired on this topic. I learned quite a few tips. Since I’m doing everything wrong, it’s time to pick a plan and do some things right.

1. I need to give Tasha a special toy when I leave. She has so many bones and tennis balls, I’m going to have to buy her a “special” toy to have for the occasion.
2. Keep the television on. I do this when I’m working, so I’m sure Tasha would appreciate it if I left it on for her to hear and to drown out the noise of anything unusual. There’s almost no noise around here, but there could be dogs barking around the lake.
3. About the sleeping arrangement: Get her to sleep in her doggie bed. I always praise her for going in there, so she should see it as a good thing. I can’t afford for her to sleep all cuddled up next to me. You just never know…I read that her sleeping in bed with me fosters dependence.
4. No more jumping up when I come home. I know she’s happy to see me (or other people), but the jumping up has to stop. I know how friendly and social she is, but she can easily knock someone down. Don’t know how to solve this one.

Luckily, I work at home most of the time. This can be a good and bad thing for Tasha. She gets used to my being at home and dreads my leaving and not taking her along.

I’ll try out a plan and see if we can get it together. Stay tuned!

I’ve often heard people refer to their dog as “my best friend.” However, in my case, it’s also the other way around. I am my dog’s best friend.

Being an only dog, and a  rescue, Tasha is so connected to me that’s it’s rare to see her following anyone else. Of course, she is my girl, and she loves me unconditionally. I never treat her badly. In fact, I’ve made up for the abuse she sustained as a young pup, and have spoiled her rotten.

Tasha follows me all around the house. She lies near my my desk as I work, and goes up and down the stairs when I do.

The fact that she doesn’t come when I call her (a very bad thing), doesn’t mean that she won’t come running back to me. When she runs in the opposite direction from where I call her, she usually turns back and gives me a look as if to say ‘I’m running away from you now, but not too far, and I’ll come back’.  This behavior is anything but ideal. When she goes with me to the mailbox, crossing the lazy road that circles the lake, Tasha sometimes dashes away from me. She comes back to the house in a few minutes, ready for a  treat as a reward just for coming home. She seems almost relieved to be reunited with me.

Even if I deprive Tasha of a daily walk or a trip to the dog park, she forgives me, and still appears to love me. When I take her to see her “doggie pals,” she still gravatates toward me, not letting me out of her sight. I’d say that Tasha is a one-person dog. 

This type of admiration is heartwarming. I have to admit that it makes me feel good to have her prefer me to other people and dogs. When visitors stop in to see me, Tasha jumps up on them (another bad habit), but quickly changes her mind as she turns to jump on me instead. I see it as another way in which she shows  her love.

What do I do to encourage her feelings of  commitment? Of course, I’m the one who feeds her good food and gives her toys and treats. I take her with me on outings whenever I can. ( Tasha loves to ride with me in the passenger seat of the car.) If I don’t take her with me, she jumps inside the car when I return to see if there’s anything in there for her.

At night, Tasha enthusiastically gets up on the bed and lays her head on my stomach, the rest of her body stretched out, completely content while I read. Her eyes close. I think she’s happy that the day is over and that now it’s her turn. Her position on the bed lasts until I turn off the lights and drag her over to the other side where she sometimes sleeps for the rest of the night, her head on the pillow next to me.

I am my dog’s best friend, but afterall, she’s my best friend too.

I’ve tried not to give my dog people food–ever. No dog-food recipes, no table scraps, and no giving Tasha leftovers that would otherwise go into the garbage disposal. I do give her real bones, but in my mind it doesn’t count as people food.

Eating a dog bone

The other day I dropped a basket of strawberries on the kitchen floor. I thought I picked up all of them. That evening, Tasha came to me with something suspicious in her mouth. She was giving me the “I did something bad” look. At closer examination, I saw that she had a whole strawberry tucked away in the side of her cheek.

It wasn’t hard for me to pry open her mouth and see what was in there. She cooperated. I plucked out the strawberry intact, and told her again, as I have in the past, “No people food!” I think she understood. The stawberry was saved, and Tasha continued to eat only the dog food I put in front of her.

Tasha graduating

Tasha has been through three obedience classes. However, she sometimes has the most appalling behavior. She acts out in ways that have been identified in dog literature as the big “no’s.” For example, she:

• Jumps on people.
• Doesn’t come when called.
• Pulls on the leash when walking.
• Raids trash cans.
• Drops a ball or stick before bringing it back (this is an enigma becasue she is, afterall, a golden retriever).

The first two classes I took her to were at PetSmart, where they taught her to sit, stay, and finally, to come when called. Okay, so she has conquered one of five: to sit before meals and biscuits. The other behavior problems are probably my fault, as I haven’t enforced them enough.

The last class I took Tasha to was an intense two-week program. Again, they taught her to sit, come, stay, to lie down, and to come when called. The problem with this class was that I didn’t go with her. I dropped her off in the morning and picked her up in the late afternoon. They didn’t show me what or how they were teaching her, so I couldn’t follow their lead. I just assumed that she had finally gone through enough behavior modification.

Not so! To this day, I live with the fact that Tasha doesn’t retrieve. This wasn’t part of her training, but I’ve lost a lot of tennis balls and good sticks this way. The jumping on people is always embarrassing, as it is when she runs the other way when I call her. I tend not to want to walk her because she pulls me all over the place. Going through the trash is treatable, and Tasha doesn’t always do this, but when she does, she knows she’s being bad. I guess that this is her form of retrieving!

It seems to be pointless, but I still try to train her. Tasha is only about three-years old. Maybe as she gets older, she’ll listen to me. Or, maybe she needs a graduate training class.