Tag Archives: back country hiking

why I love to hike …

Posted on by
4

“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean”. John Muir

Hiking is walking, but with way more dirt, and I like both.

Me & Tyler 2

Sometimes I like to hike and explore the fauna, scat and tracks. Other times I like to challenge myself and go for a long, steep and difficult hike, my knees pay the next day to be sure, but everything else in my body feels great, sated. Sometimes its a cultural exploration, other times I just need a deep breath. Hiking to a remote bakery in France and hiking to the rim of a volcano in Indonesia are the same thing for me. In my book they both hold great promise and adventure!

midway geyser basin

I was hiking when I was much younger, but I was unaware it was called hiking. My friend Carla and I would pack our little bags, and high tail it into the hills around our house. Let me premise this by the fact that I was raised semi-feral, most of my generation was. Mom would make us breakfast and then say, “outside, be home by dinner”. We were never asked what happened during the day, it was ours to do with what we wanted. But god forbid if I was ever a minute late for dinner!

My friend and I would spend hours upon hours looking for coyote dens, not a smart idea I know, but at the time it was a great adventure! We would find puddles, and streams, and visit our water friends, and at that time frogs and tadpoles were plentiful. And yes there were also the ticks, snakes, and ground cactus. I never intentionally went looking for those!

My favorite memory from those early hikes though were the rainy day hikes. It would start to rain lightly and I would jump up and call Carla, “wanna go?” YES was always the answer. Up and up we went into the hills around our neighborhood, looking for anything that was interesting. We would climb trees and pretend we were Robinson Crusoe, build mud forts, and have great kid adventures all day in the rain.

But what still brings a smile to my face is the memory and feeling at the end of our rainy day hikes. We would run down through thigh high mustard weed, run and run for at least a half a mile, sometimes stumbling and rolling, but running in the rain, and tall yellow flowers, and that feeling of total freedom and for some reason, safety.

The worst thing that ever happened to us was having to pick ticks off of each other. My Mom would make us strip our clothes off on the front porch, she apparently didn’t want the ticks inside the house. By the way, thanks for that Mom!

Through the years I have had the fortune and/or opportunity to hike on various continents and islands.

caving

From the dry valley’s to the polar plateau of Antarctica, some amazing hiking, frozen but amazing. New Zealand has no lack of knee deep mud, black fly’s or eel’s. Indonesian guides are more than accommodating if you want to hike to the rim of a volcano, flowing lava be damned! Hiking above the tree line can be a bit thin on air. Forests tend to home some of the fiercest apex predators on earth. The French are great at giving you wrong directions on a trail unless you say Bonjour when you’re coming and going. Hiking in the hills around San Cristobal, Mexico, better not show your knees, just sayin! It’s all different all unique all wonderful.

100_1780

It clears my mind, body, and soul of everything that is not important. I feel free, happy and most importantly, me. The past thirty years I have shared trails with my dogs and children. They are the living beings I care to spend my free time with, so it is all good!

Nancy, happy walking!

sun, snow, and the high desert …

Posted on by
8

Our first hike this winter season in the high desert areas of Montana, feels so good to be back! Truly, there is nothing quite like a sunny blue bird sky, crisp diamond sparkling air, fresh snow, and the smell of cold dry earth. There is a quietness to the whole landscape, a rugged stillness, that is so grounding for me. It’s my soul place, plain an simple.

We were the first domestic tracks today, although there were an abundance of coyote, deer, and mouse tracks. I’m kind of thinking by the look of the ‘party’ that was going on with some of the tracks, it may not have gone well for some mice, and for sure a young deer.

My crew is currently crashed, ‘hike drunk’ so to speak. I think we all needed today.

Oh happy day, Nancy!

how adoptable are you?

Posted on by
15

In 2008 the Utah/Idaho Vizsla Rescue invited me to their annual retreat. They invited me to just come, hang out, be a guest trainer if someone had questions, swim, hike, and enjoy their company. Seriously, how can anyone say no to that?

I ended up going three years in a row, and felt so honored every time they asked. An awesome group all the way around!

video 2008

video 2009

video 2010

Their retreat turned out to be more like a gathering. People driving across country to be there. Swanky campers, tents or staying in delicious old cabins. Young, old, hunters, vegetarians, athletes, and families. Dogs of all ages and temperaments, some with horrific histories, others with that unbearable lightness of being. Wine, gin, whiskey, and incredible food in abundance. All converging at Wade/Cliff Lake Montana. If you don’t know this area, it will suffice to say, it is jaw dropping gorgeous!

Since it was my first time at a gathering like this, I wasn’t sure what to expect. So, ever the family board game player, I filled a bag with fun games, trivial information, and puzzles. All of it revolved around dogs, dog ownership, and relationships. Some wholesome stuff for sure, some naughty/scary stuff for late night around the camp fire ;-)

Since this group was focused on rescue and re-homing Vizsla’s, I thought it would be fun to play my Profile Game, but with a twist. A responsible rescues needs to know about a dogs adoptability, they have to be very in tune with who this dog is and who to place it with. Sometimes it can reach critical levels in regards to information. And sometimes, we as humans just get way too picky.

So this is how the game is played. Everyone gets a Profile Form and pen. I made this one super basic and easy, but with the ability to gather critical information to determine adoptability. But instead of filling it out for a dog, everyone had to fill it out as themselves. They were all being put up for adoption.

At first, there was not a single smile. Shit, this was a serious group or perhaps hung over? I simply said, don’t put your name on the form, be honest, and don’t share your info with the person next to you. Little chuckles here and there, some big bursts of laughter once they got into it, and lots of four letter words once they got rolling!

Once everyone finished I gathered the forms, I believe there were nine or ten total. To this day I can say this was one of the most fun moments I have ever had with a group. When reading these out loud, and they were pretty hysterical, honest and outrageous, we learned a lot about how imperfect we are, yet how we expect new to you dogs to be perfect.

Out of this group of nine or ten

  • One pure breed, or so they said! Eight mixed breed with no papers, Family Crest,  or Coat of Arms.
  • General appearance was a bit rough and scruffy. One said they felt like a super model in appearance. We debated that for awhile!
  • Five had healthy interactions with their own age group and species, but they did not do well with toddlers, adolescents or young adults. Four didn’t care about their interactions as long as they were having a good time, they were young adults.
  • Seven had way to much resource guarding to be considered safe in a new family home. They bordered as sanctuary candidates. They guarded their home, property, toys, and children. Some even carried guns because resources were that important! Only one food guarder!
  • Eight had space issues. Their personal space was large and could not be crowded with too much activity. Grocery stores, festivals, Costco on Saturday’s, and the like were out of the question.
  • Five were considered senior, and their health and medications were considered too expensive to make them easily adoptable. Specialty homes would be necessary.
  • All felt they were well socialized to people, places, things and events. Two felt more social after having a few drinks.
  • Two were semi incontinent, that posed a whole new level of care taking and adoptability.  One was only incontinent after drinking too much, that could be easily managed we all felt!
  • Two had exercise needs that were too extreme to be considered easily adoptable. They needed specialty homes with active joggers, hikers, mountain bikers or gym owners. An easy going family would be overwhelmed.
  • Eight were intact and capable of reproduction. Not good for adopting out!
  • Some females had whelped multiple times and proved to have too many opinions to be easily adoptable. They would not transition well.
  • Two over ate, one had food allergies and needed food management. A home that understands this structure would do OK. Free feeding or buffets, not a good idea for these folks!
  • One, just one, out of the group was young, opinion and guarding free, easy to get along with, well socialized but not in your face, read social cues well, willing to try new things and activities, and had a lovely lightness about her. FINALLY, an easily adoptable person!
  • and on and on … It just kept getting better!

What we all learned is that we are not perfect, none of us, not even by a long shot!

Sometimes a potential adopter is looking for perfect. No barking, easily hangs out at home, no guarding, no reactivity, doesn’t beg, walks nice on a leash, likes weekend outings but doesn’t require daily hikes, no health issues, pretty, etc. What they are really describing is a stuffed animal, not a living being with an ounce of life experience.

It comes down to looking for the right match, educating, and making sure a potential adopter is up for the new adventure. Taking the good and the bad, and moving forward with the relationship is what it boils down too.

Our follow up game was creating a newspaper advert. Our dogs were giving us away, what would they say about us to find us a new home? SO FUN!

Enjoy the lovely photos, some awesome memories! Nancy

dog photos in black and white …

Posted on by
8

I always take my camera hiking, always. Sometimes it’s my good camera, most of the time it’s my cell phone version. My camera’s get to see some very cool places in the world, I consider our local mountains some of the coolest.

Earlier this week on our hike it was kind of smokey, the colors pretty muted, so I started to shoot in black & white, and the effect was breath taking. Then I started to go through some older b & w photos and realized how much I love them. Sometimes it hits my mood perfectly!

Enjoy, Nancy

prepare your dog

Posted on by
9

Life has a way of changing on us, it is truly the only constant. Sometimes we initiate the change, which can be pretty cool. And then some times change happens whether we are ready or not. Some glide through change gracefully, for most it’s more of a bumpy ride until one adjusts.

For our dogs, change is only positive if we have prepared them. By prepared I mean introduce them and socialized them to a world far bigger than the one at home. Socialization at a young age or when you get your dog is far more than just important, it is preparing your dog for the future. In other words you are investing in your dog by introducing them kindly and considerately to people, places, things, events, and other well socialized dogs. Exposing them to experiences in a positive way and keeping their world broad and open.

One of the more common scenarios I have seen over the past ten years is a very well meaning person that comes to a point in their relationship with their dog where they want to do more, maybe a dog sport, maybe therapy, or maybe move into a different living situation with new people. The dog on the other hand has had limited exposure to life outside of the home, and if there were outings they were to dog parks. Some dogs literally jump at the chance to do more, most however have some level of stress as they were never prepared for change, let alone new and different. And some dogs just don’t have the coping skills to transition at all into the new change, change that is being made for them by their owner.

While this may seem like a lot, remember that nothing will stay exactly the same in your life over the next fifteen years. Prepare now so that the transition for you and your dog goes much more smoothly.

About three years ago Ocean went into renal failure due to the administration of drugs she was not supposed to have. After visiting a teaching veterinary hospital, I decided to do home care with her during her fluid therapy as she trusts me to do anything with her, we have worked hard for that relationship. I had to learn how to administer IV and subcutaneous fluids in a matter of five minutes.

Did I prepare her for fluid therapy when she was younger? No. But because I have taught Ocean many skills over the years, her and I work seamlessly as a team. I asked for a down on her pillow, asked for relax which is head down, asked for pa so she would extend her leg to me, and then ready which is the word for me starting something. Although this was change for us all, we were able to work together on new and different, I could take most of the stress out of the situation. I would massage her during each session, and then we would go for a light walk afterwards. On some level I hope I brought some understanding to her that this was going to be a good thing in the long run. I am happy to say that she is ten and healthy!

Tips -

  1. Take your dog to new and different places that allow dogs. Visit hardware stores, outdoor restaurants if your dog has a good settle, book stores, walking malls, etc.
  2. Train often and train creatively. Introduce new tricks and new behaviors all of the time. Keep training fresh and fun. Create a dog that trusts learning from you.
  3. Expose your dog to new people, new places, new things, new events, and other well socialized dogs on a regular basis, especially when young. Give them exposure!
  4. Give your dog skills. Whether a dog sport is in your future or not, trying a little of this and a little of that builds your dogs knowledge and skills. Try a core conditioning class, doggie yoga, foundation agility or body awareness, freestyle and tricks, treibball, etc.
  5. Prepare your dog to work in new locations with you, not just in your yard. Practice your skills on a sidewalk, in a park, on a trail, in a store.
  6. Crate train your dog. This may seem odd, but having a dog that has a safe place, and it’s constant, and they can count on it, helps with transitions. You can bring a crate into a facility for training and the constant is the crate, while introducing new skills and new experiences. Bringing a crate into a hotel room is for safety and also for being a polite guest, but it creates a constant place during travel, which is change. Crates are great management tools, and if conditioned properly, create a place of calm and of safety. And it is a constant in a world of changes brought ton by owners.
  7. Expose your dog to new sounds, new smells, new sights. These can be little outings.
  8. Have friends over to your home so your dog gets used to other people in the house in a positive way.
  9. The more you teach, the more you can ask from your dog.

Think of the future and prepare, your dog will appreciate your efforts! Nancy

living with a dog outside of neutral – part 7

Posted on by
10

Living is the foundation. While we have spent 10+ years with Franny, and have had to learn and grow a great deal so we could all be successful, living our lives together was always at the center of our thoughts.

It sounds rather obvious, but you might be surprised by the great number of professional trainers and/or behaviorists that recommended extended crating, extended kenneling, limited freedom, and a life on a leash. The Stockholm Syndrome was not my goal. Choice and trust within safe boundaries was my goal. I am a true believer in learning by doing. Again, it comes back to living. Franny has camped on the beaches of California, traveled across Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Nevada, hiked/ran a large portion of the local mountain ranges, and has been part of demonstrations in local schools. Her life with us, I would like to believe, has been full, adventurous, loving and to a degree complete. If only she could tell me.

While this list might appear somewhat overwhelming, please keep in mind, it grew over 10+ years. And it is still growing.

Diet -

One of the characteristics that separates wild from domestic is the ability/inability to eat within proximity to humans. Franny would not eat or look at food with us in the house or even near by outside. She killed and scavenged for her food when we first brought her home. The break through was a mistake really. We were remodeling a large section of our home, so we lived in a tent in our yard and had our kitchen set up under the apple tree. The BBQ was the center of activity with every meal. I started to just chuck meat scraps out into the yard while I went about my business in our outdoor kitchen, some cooked some raw, never putting pressure on her by watching or talking with her. I threw them pretty far out. During a weeks time, I noticed that Franny would start to wag her tail and watch me as I went near the BBQ, so I started to lesson the distance. She would now lay and watch me and wait. Over a months time, she would come close to my alfresco kitchen, lay down and wag her tail, and eat close and from my hand. BREAK THROUGH!

I had accidentally, and also to my great joy, created a rockin’ great positive emotional response to the BBQ, and what I could offer her. Now I could use this new skill of hand feeding for teaching and trust building. yay!

We transitioned onto kibble over time, but it didn’t go well for her. Her system couldn’t assimilate the high phosphorus and magnesium content in commercial food. She developed struvite bladder stones that had to be surgically removed do to their size.

She went on a full raw diet, based on Dr. Tom Lonsdale’s book, Raw Meaty Bones. We also used BARF prepared raw food, and then transitioned into making our own. All of our dogs have been on an 80% raw diet for the past nine years. Whole carcass in the AM, mixed ground meat, offal, a wee bit fruit/veggie, and crushed bone in the PM.

Raw Feeding Video. We use kibble for convenience on busy days.

Multiple Dog Household Feeding Video

Sleeping -

Franny wouldn’t come up onto my bed, no chance no way! She liked to be in a small dark corner of the closet, or in a corner of the kids room. My problem with this was, she went into a very dark place in her mind, eyes would glaze over, and we were not welcome. I wanted her to feel safe and comfortable in our home and especially when sleeping.

We put a dog pillow in every room for her, so no matter where she was she had her OWN space, but I purposefully put them in more open areas. In my bedroom I put a crate half way in and half way out of my closet, right next to the head of the bed where I slept. Comfy crate mat, comfy temperature too. We would fall asleep listening to each other breathe. For the first year or so I would shut the door of the crate so she was where I needed her to be at night. For the past nine years it has remained open. She still sleeps next to me about 80% of the time.

Now that she is older and likes a bit more comfort and warmth, her winter nights are with me on the bed. I sleep with a smile each night.

crate management -

Shortly after we got Franny we also added crate management to the house. She showed signs of property guarding, and I didn’t want to go down that path.

Every time we leave the house she is crated. All I have ever had to say is ‘Franny kennel up’ and she saunters right in. She loves her crate and it was conditioned as a good and safe place to be from the get go. I do not believe in extended crating, the longest she is in there during the day is 3 hours.

barrier management -

We live on the end of a cul d sac with large picture windows. Ten years ago we had nineteen young children and thirteen dogs on the circle, it was a freaking moving picture show everyday!And she had second story front row seating, yikes!

To watch this type of activity was completely over most dogs skill level, but Franny decided she would just bust through the window to get out there. Self control was not a strong suit. We bought stain glass window film and applied it so it went from floor to three feet up. I didn’t want to keep her restricted from the most use rooms in the house, and yelling at her every minute of everyday wasn’t on my list of things to do either.

Cutting out the visual was awesome. She could still hear everyone, which was good, but without a strong visual I could start working on calling her to me with ease and rewarding her coming away from the windows. We had it up for nearly six years before we did another remodel.

Now the windows are clear, she can see everything clearly. But the windows have been conditioned as ‘nothing cool happens here’ space. She may bark a couple of times at a dog that comes close to our yard, or a strange FED EX person walking up our drive, but comes right to me. Conditioning is so much nicer than forcing, and the stained glass film was pretty!

car -

Because Franny was reactive in the car and actually cracked a window I had to be creative about our travels.

I started to take her by myself to dog areas, park a bit away and feed her her dinner by hand while she watched the other dogs. As she visibly relaxed I lessened the distance a bit. Then I would drive by these areas and do the same. I was desensitizing, hopefully, and taking some of the intensity out.

While we can drive by dogs without  acknowledgment of their presence on this planet, If I park and leave her in the car, she will still off load with great intensity. So I don’t park any place with her that has that possibility. My presence is part of the package for calm in the car, I am under no illusion here!

exercise -

This was tricky. She wasn’t toy driven, a bit but not for any type of duration. She liked walking but it didn’t make a dent in her exercise requirements. She loved to run, but it was usually paired with running after something to kill. She was great at hiking.

I started to do backyard agility training for fun, and also mental exercise for her. To all agility fans out there, Franny is a dog that ran as fast as the handler, no more no less. If you were bullet fast so was she. She never popped a contact, missed a weave, knocked a bar, or missed a cue. She was perfect! But she had zero interest in the larger agility scene. She clearly was doing this for me, as she never volunteered to do it on her own. It proved to be a great relationship building experience.

Every night we played with fun tricks in the family room. My kids were used as obstacles most of the time, my husband a launching pad when we got into vaulting skills. Those are some of my best early memories.

My husband who is a runner started to take her on extended trail runs, 15-35 miles per week for over seven years. She rocked as his trail companion. They could pass cows, deer, bears, other hikers and dogs. She loved running with Spore! When she turned ten though she kind of started to refuse the outings.  I think this was harder on Spore than Fran to be honest.

things we taught -

She has gone through agility, freestyle, treibball and herding training with me. While none of them totally lit her up, she does enjoy a fun little session in any of these. Freestyle for sure has become fun for her as she ages. great mental and physical exercise!

sit

come to me

down ( without the threat of pain , fear or discomfort!)

touch an object

go to table (go to transferred into a whole bunch of stuff over time)

roll over

sit pretty

shake/bake

spin

twirl

bow

between my legs

in

jump on my back (she wouldn’t go across water when we first got her, so we taught her how to jump on or backs and we would carry her across)

kennel up

settle gets you everything, push gets nothing

hop up

all agility obstacles

watch me

now (if I really needed her quickly on a trail, now meant, post haste!)

stop and drop (if she saw prey to chase, stop and drop was the behavior we taught, we started this on a long line, see prey at a distance, stop, and a whole baggie of steak was dumped between my feet)

sit/stand/down when car goes by (incompatible with chasing a car) we spent an entire summer on old county roads working on this. My husband would drive the car two miles in either direction and just keep passing us. I needed her to hear the car from aways away and start working on her not setting up so much, and then offer a behavior that was better than chasing, a long line was used for this as well. Meat balls worked great too!

on by – when another dog was near by, for us to keep moving if it looked like it may not go well

stay

gate zen – so we didn’t have bolting out of our space, yard, house, car

drop

back – fun freestyle move

books -

These are the books and/or authors that have been with me through my journey and into my professional career. These are not all of the books I have read, but the one’s I found most useful. I went through a period of reading two books per week. And then I had my stack of ‘pleasure’ books as well that I was reading at the same time. Most of these books can be found at DogWise. Where it says everything, I read all of the books/booklets that author wrote. They aren’t all about dogs, but rather relationship, training, behavior and ethology…

Patricia McConnell – everything

Roger Abrantes – everything

Jeffrey Masson – everything

Suzanne Clothier – everything

Terry Ryan – everything

Bob Bailey – all articles

Culture Clash – Jean Donaldson

Jane Goodall – everything

Mark Bekoff – everything

Next of Kin (awesome!)

Applied Dog Behavior and Training (3 volumes) – Steven R. Lindsay

Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog

Crate Games

The Rosetta Bone

Applied Behavior Analysis

Learning and Behavior

Four Paws, Five Directions

Aggressive Behavior in Dogs

On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals

Peak Performance: Coaching the Canine Athlete

The Only Dog Tricks Book You’ll Ever Need

K9 Kitchen

When Pigs Fly

baby Sounds CD

Dr. Dunbar’s Good Little Dog Book

Alone Across the Arctic

A Shepherd’s Watch

Don’t Shoot the Dog

Disc Dogs DVD

Intro to all breed herding DVD

NATURE’S Dogs that Changed the World DVD

Rhythm Paws DVD

My Dog Pulls: What do I do?

The Well Adjusted Dog

The Elephants Secret Sense

things I’ve learned -

Everything! Franny has taught me how to open my eyes to the world around me, be aware, and build my skills. This applies in all aspects of my life. The one aspect of our relationship that continues to grow is our trust in each other. While love was not part of who we initially were together, it has grown over the years through the fun and dark times. When I look at her there is a feeling of fullness and depth. She is part of my personal biography, my every fiber.

Nancy & Franny …

living with a dog outside of neutral – part 4

Posted on by
Reply

moving forward -

When you have a dog that is wanting to learn, it makes training fun. It doesn’t necessarily imply that behaviors will come easily, sometimes yes for sure, but at least you have a partner that will hang in there with you and go for the ride. You can make some minor mistakes and all will be forgiven as long as you’re moving forward and things stay interesting and consistent for the most part. This shows willingness and/or biddability.Truly fun training partner!

When you have a dog that finds no value in the human trick called training, and basically in all gestures tells you, make it worth my while and I’ll consider it, you need skills, patience, and knowledge. If you don’t already have this skill set, then you need a willingness to get it.

more info -

I now had a mission, to make things better and more consistent. I would no longer take Fran with me to go see a trainer or to a group training class unless I was sure we were going to learn something valuable and that it would be enjoyable and safe for the both of us.

Phone and e-mail consultations became my initial plan. And then I jumped right into seminars, workshops and clinics.

My first was to Lyn in Utah. We talked several times over a one year period. He was my introduction to working dogs years ago, and I trusted him. He helped me work through some of my questions and concerns, and we came up with some management strategies as well as more appropriate work for Fran. Awesome advice all the way around.

My second was to Bud Houston. I didn’t know him personally, but I was getting to know of him through the agility world. With all of his knowledge and hands on work, surely he could help me with motivation?! I had no hopes of Fran ever doing agility for competition, but for training and relationship I think it had value. I cold e-mailed him, told him a bit of my story with Fran and he wrote back with a lovely e-mail including some great suggestions with agility backyard games. In signing he said, “don’t give up, your dog deserves your efforts”. With that simple phrase he catapulted me forward. FINALLY someone who I didn’t even know gave me encouragement instead of condemnation. It was empowering to say the least.

My next few calls were to people that were listed as trainers in the area. All but one of them told me of 1001 ways they could shock, isolate, pinch, choke, and humiliate my dog into submission. The one trainer who didn’t say any of that gave me some hope, so I followed through and met with her. While I didn’t learn anything new from her, she was kind and open to us attending some privates and well as a class just for reactive dogs. She was willing to let me be part of a community again, but with management and safety first and foremost. I picked her brain in regards to books, videos, conferences, clinics, workshops and more. I was on this huge learning curve and wanted more.

I attended conferences and seminars on behavior, training and veterinary science topics from coast to coast. The world was starting to open up.

My final call during those early years was to Dr. Patricia McConnell. I was active in the agility club with my dog Ocean and proposed the idea of hosting a big behavioral seminar. I had just finished reading her booklets, and much of what she was suggesting for a dog that behaved like Fran was honest, practical, and kind. I wanted to meet her. So I called, left a message and one night when I was eating dinner with my kids she called me back. It was like talking to a close friend. For someone with her fame and talent to be so tangible was refreshing and exciting. I’ll admit, I was a bit star struck too. I explained my story, what I was doing, why I wanted her to come, and she said , yes! I spent the better part of a year and half preparing, advertising, and getting the club involved. It was a huge success all the way around. In parting she told me that if I really wanted to do something with all of the knowledge I was gaining, get certified as a trainer and become a professional. I gained a friend that day and also a new direction forward.

on the home front -

Fran and I were getting along better. There was more consistency, more structure, and a more realistic plan for engaging with her. She would only go into her early Fran behaviors when she was stressed, so I learned how to minimize stress and to choose her environments carefully.

But there was still something that was nagging me, I still couldn’t put my finger on it. And there was something happening health wise too.

On a whim I called the shelter where she came from. It was the typical over worked, under funded, under staffed, and overwhelmed with dogs shelter scenario. They never kept notes on her when she was there. One kennel Tech that remembered us overheard the conversation and was kind enough to call us back. He remembered Fran well. He had the memory of her coming in as a feral dog. She was intact and possibly pregnant when she came in. Cautious, walked on tip toes, didn’t eat well. She got along with all of the dogs she was kenneled with, but older female dogs disliked her greatly. Holy crap! Here is someone who saw what I had seen during the early months/years with her, to the T. I hadn’t imagined anything.

No more than a month later when we were in PetSmart socializing and shopping, one of the employees recognized Fran. Where did I get her, how long had I had her? He proceeded to tell me that she was a feral dog that was found with her brother up in the Bridger Mountains. They were living in a culvert under a trail and some back country skier friends of his found the pair.

I had heard the word feral twice in a months period of time. I knew the word and the rough definition, but I didn’t know exactly how it was applied, and/or the implications with a dog that was living in my home.

So I went on line and started contacting trainers around the country that came up when I entered the word pheral, feral, farol, phairol. A couple wrote back, but I am pretty sure most thought they were being ding dong ditched on some level. What a wacky e-mail that would have been to receive.

I didn’t learn anything new from them, and there wasn’t a great deal of information to pull from. But I did come across a book that helped a great deal, Ray Coppingers Dogs: a New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution. He classified feral dogs into several categories and what I learned was that Fran was my second feral dog. My first would have been classified as a village dog, one that lived in and amongst people but belonged to the streets. Fran was a domestic dog that had been raised in the wild, she had gone feral. hmmmm

Did this new piece of information change my new plan? Not really. But what it did do was make me more accountable as her owner, handler and team mate. I now had the knowledge that she was being asked to live and function in a world that she had never been prepared for. It was up to me to create a safe, kind, and creative environment.

I also decided to get a DNA test done a few years later, curiosity really. She is a true mix breed. Here parents were mix breed to mix breed, her grandparents the same. That’s why she came up as NO DOG in those categories. There is a possibility that one of her great grandparents was part Samoyed, which would give her 12.5% possibility of having some of that in her genetic line. I always guessed that she had Heeler and some type of Northern breed in her. They offered to do a hybrid test on her. It isn’t something I really wanted to know, I was satisfied with what I had, so I politely declined.

living with a dog outside of neutral – part 3

Posted on by
11

Mr. Toads Wild Ride, the first year -

If I look back at my choice in dogs, I’m definitely drawn to a particular type. I like my dogs athletic and agile. I value stamina and endurance. I want my dogs to have opinions, fire in the belly. And most importantly, dogs that are great problem solvers. I value team.

I have never once asked that any of my dogs be sweet, easy, perfect, or compliant robotic type minions. That isn’t interesting to me, nor would it suit my life style.

Now if you know anything about projecting, I more than likely described myself. In all honesty, I think that is what we value in the dogs that we connect with the most, bits and pieces of ourselves, good and bad, healthy and destructive.

revealing ones self  -

During the first year, as Fran started to feel more comfortable we learned more about what lay beneath the surface. Property guarding, chasing anything that moved (cars, bikes, deer…), killing small prey, playing with coyotes, flying off and out of things, cautious in new environments with people, extreme barrier frustration when in the car (she cracked the window trying to get to a dog on the street). She also was showing beautiful settle in the home, loved children, was eating better, wanted to play with me a bit more, showed interest in learning with me, tricks, agility, and trail behaviors.

settling in -

The more Fran started to settle in, the more of her we were able to get to know. She wasn’t forthcoming with anything though. I was learning that she was a dogs dog, loved being a dog, doing dog things, and really had no time or need to invest any of herself in anything human. It was some how, ever so slightly, offensive to her.

Piper loved her from the start, and this relationship I felt was mutual. Piper drew pictures of her, they would play in the yard together, and played dress up daily. I can’t even count how many times Fran fell asleep dressed up as one of Pipers Princess friends, Buttercup was a favorite.

It was charming. But there was something else brewing. Everyone that came to the house would remark at how awesome Fran was, so mellow, patient, sweet and lovely. Yes it would appear so, but in reality it was more like having a Ferrari in our living room, idling quietly, and waiting for that ounce of pressure to be applied to the gas pedal.

initial training -

My goal was not to work on sit, down, stay or even come. My goal was to have her eventually eat what I presented and stop killing and eating her own food (I felt this was imperative, call me silly!), help her feel comfortable and take a deep breath, and get to know us and hopefully like us.

I went into the yard with some toys and started to play with them, throw them, hide them, run away with them. I wanted to see where her interest was. She just lay there with her paws crossed and watched me, intently. Then she got up, stretched, and sauntered off in the opposite direction. She turned to look at me once, and shook her head, and continued her saunter away. I remember saying, “Are you kidding me, I’m fun!” She simply wasn’t impressed.

I wasn’t new to dogs or training, I worked on the Park City Ski Patrol for four years, two were on the K9 avalanche team, and two in the back country summer conditioning with the dogs, rough I know! I had the amazing fortune to work with Lyn King, a talented and unassuming handler. He taught me a great deal about play, motivation, scent work, tracking, relationship, trust, and balance. But this was something I did for work, surely it wasn’t the same for a family dog?

I started to think that maybe it would be good for me to take a group training class, surely I would learn more? I was 37 years old and signed up for my first family pet training class, I was so excited I could barely sleep the night before. I had never seen or heard of a pinch collar. Even after 37 years of living with dogs, and four working with them professionally, this was a first. My initial thought was, wow when did punk rock become so main stream in the dog world!

The trainer seemed nice enough, she was kind of funny in a caustic kind of way. She put the pinch collars on all of the dogs and said to leave them on for a week and then come back. See ya all next week.

I went home, took it off and went about family living. I didn’t go back to this class for three weeks, something just didn’t feel right.

Fran was following me around, eating what I would throw to her from the BBQ, play a bit, and was proving to be an amazing trail dog. It was coming together in bits and pieces.

But I did pay for the class, so I went back at week four. Fran and I ran the 1 1/2 miles to the barn in the evening, arrived happy and ready to learn, we were the only ones smiling. It was the night to teach lay down. Fran already new this, if I stopped moving she would lay at my side. I had been working on this at home when I was in the kitchen. And since she was now taking food from my hands, this was even more thrilling to me, a two-fer. But since I was the truant student, she used us as an example for teaching down. When I mentioned she new it, not with the word, but knew how to do it, the instructor smirked, took the leash and stepped on it as she yanked the other end up. Fran started to scream and my mouth dropped in horror as tears erupted from my eyes. THIS is what that pinch collar is for?

I was laughed at by the instructor in front of everyone. She told me I was weak and my dog was trying to control me. In that moment I didn’t feel weak, I felt like an idiot and abuser who on some level should have known better. Fran must have felt like she had entered hell. We ran the 1 1/2 miles home in silence. I hung the pinch collar in the garage, sat down and thought long and hard. I needed to get my shit together, I think Fran was thinking the same thing.

I continued the class sans collar, part of me getting my shit together was learning who I didn’t want to be, with or without my dog. The class proved to be valuable in this respect. It confirmed the path I wanted to take, clarified my training choices, and gave me purpose.

trail work -

After that little slice of hell called a class, I found solace with Fran out in the mountains on trails. Fran felt complete. When I had the kids with me, she stayed about 10 feet in front of us and would check in often.

Then on one occasion she bolted up the hill side, stayed on the ridge and just parallel tracked us. hmmm

On another hike she bolted and came back, within 100 feet or so, with a young coyote. And they were playing. This repeated itself too many times to count. Watching her interact and play gave me a new appreciation for her. She was alive, full, and engaged in this world. So different than when she was at home, seemingly waiting.

We had another dog that had a coyote friend that she played with on a daily basis for a little less than a year. But it was a specific coyote in a specific location. This was different.

Then she showed me how proficient she was at chasing deer, tracking small game, alerting to other predators, and barking at anything coming towards us if we were hiking remote.

More things to add to my list of things to work on.

maybe a job?

Because she seemed so alive in motion and working on a trail, perhaps a more directed job would be a good addition?

We tried herding, she was actually good with sheep, but too vocal for the instructors liking. She rocked when working cattle. She was put on a herd with three other dogs, and they were going to move them to a different pasture area. She naturally fell into the flanking position, it was breath taking! I didn’t plan on buying a piece of property and adding cattle to it, so this would be a hobby of sorts.

What about agility? I had been interested in this sport for a couple of years, Fran might be the perfect dog? We found an instructor and gave it a try. Fran was cautious with the intense human interaction and direction, there weren’t a lot of choices. But I was really liking it, it was fun, stimulating and gave me something I could do in our yard with Fran.

The over the top energy from people and dogs proved to be too much for Fran, it was shutting her down and that was not the direction I wanted to go. The lack of management in classes during those years was our demise though. Fran was attacked by the instructors dog while doing a private at her home. The next night during a group class, Fran reciprocated. She was never asked back. My second group class experience, and another experience that ended badly. She was called a monster, dangerous, unpredictable, out of control, a candidate for euthanasia, etc … Everyone that I was meeting and enjoying in the dog world now turned their back on me.

isolation -

When you are living with a dog that is living life outside of neutral, it can feel like a very isolating experience, especially if you’re social.

Having a dog that needs you to make choices wisely, falls outside of the norm for the average owner. But with Fran I learned that this was the best way to live. It was our new normal and was going to be a good normal, a creative normal, and our normal.

adding dogs -

So I went and added more dogs to our household. Chaser was Fran’s friend from the shelter, and we decided to foster him. Ocean came home with us as a puppy because I did want to get more involved with dog sports. If it wasn’t going to be Fran’s gig, that was OK, but I wanted it to be mine.

Fran came alive with dogs in her own home. It was one of the craziest decisions we made, but great for the whole household. Companionship in her home was one of the main missing pieces. She wanted some of her own to be around her.

my part -

I was feeling like I had been given a part in a play, with a story that was unfamiliar to me.

Nancy

sunday hike …

Posted on by
Reply

Today was a sleep in day at home. This happens pretty much never. We just always seem to have something to do, or someplace to go, and frankly we’re all morning people, morning dogs!

But there was something delicious about this cold and snowy May morning, and even the dogs were happy to stay curled up in bed with me.

When we finally decided to get up and get moving, we headed for the mountains.

Hyalite, in the Gallatin National Forest, is close by and great hiking. I am fully aware that things are changing up there and it is more crowded like a city park these days. But a city park with bears, guns, and alcohol. Kind of a creepy mixture really. Nonetheless, I still have some of my favorite spots.

Just ten years ago I could walk my kids and dogs down the middle of the road and maybe have to move over for one car. I could be on a trail for hours before hearing a mountain bike or person approaching.

Today the road was a busy highway, and a fast one at that. Beer cans flying out of one car (it was the first time in years I have seen anything tossed from a car window), two huge dogs barking and lunging out of another, and a few speed racers. Trail head parking areas all had activity, and one brave sole was looking to launch his boat into the lake, bbbbrrrrrrr!

We chose the path of least resistance, and a more remote area. Hiking with four people and four dogs in one group is a great deal of management, and it also asks a lot from other trail users ( in my world anyway). I don’t want to be a bother to others, nor do I want to be bothered when we are all together. I like enjoying my dogs, my kids and the mountains, it’s as simple as that.

We had a great hike and the dogs hit their favorite spring swimming hole.

Happy and safe hiking, Nancy

Ready, Set, Hike! DVD

Posted on by
Reply

My Ready, Set, Hike! DVD launched this morning. It was produced by the lovely family at TawzerDog… A great way to start the day … more info

” Join Nancy Tanner, for a day of training and discussion, to prepare you and your dog for back country hiking and wilderness first aid …

Ready, Set, HIKE! is celebrating its 4 Year Anniversary in the back country, so we wanted to share our information in a full day workshop. A great opportunity for the beginning thru avid hiker, as well as trainers, City Planners, looking to add a new program to their curriculum! This program doesn’t teach people how to hike, we assume if you know how to walk, then hiking will be a breeze! RSH prepares dogs and their owners to use trails responsibly while enjoying the back country.”

Topics:

  •  Self-control in the car is where the hike begins
  • Trail etiquette – multi use trails, what are you responsible for?
  • The Back Country is not a dog park, how to change what your doing
  • Working on specific behaviors all dog/owner teams should have before stepping  out onto a trail. Directionals, recalls in the great outdoors, off trail stays, between, trail fetch, behind, trail passing, and more!
  • Creating a hiking partner – how far is too far? Working on space
  • Right of Ways
  • Trail choice – knowing you and your dog’s ability
  • Seasonal, dry, wet, high, low hiking – benefits, considerations? You bet!
  • Wilderness first aid tips – prevention
  • Gear, clothing, what to bring in your day pack for you and your dog
  • Paw Care – staying mobile
  • Hiking Solo with your dog – tips
  • Trapping and hunting considerations
  • Taking photos … it’s a must!
  • … and more!