Sick as a Dog

By Gary

Dunno what he got into but on January 27th, Axel had had the worst case of the ‘rhea for almost a week!  He’d had a few accidents in the house that we initially thought was a regression to unwanted behaviour but it turned out to be uncontrollable bowls!  Ugh…

We took him to the vets after a couple of days and got him checked out for viruses etc which came back neagtive but we also got a copuple of prescriptions to help him out.  After Liz nursing him like a new born - giving him rice, baby food and the like it cleared up for the most part but he still gets the rhea from time to time.

Basic Training - Day 4

By Gary

Wait was the command of the day for Day 4 of puppy class.  This is actually one that we will use alot but the most frequent place it will be used is when entering and leaving a building, car or other "enterable" place.

With the dog on the leash and in front of the door to leave the house (for example) you issue a sit command and with a circular palms out gesture, issue the wait command. You then open the door, walk through it and once you’ve crossed the threshhold, issue the let’s go command where you treat him for his co-operation.  Initially it feels like it’s too much to ask but Axel seems to be picking this one up pretty well.  In fact, this command is required whenever we enter or leave the puppy training room so we get to use it a lot.

A spin off of the wait command is one where you stop the dog suddenly in case of harm or danger.  While walking on the leash normally, you extend a leg in front of the dog and say wait in a firm voice.  The dog must immediately stop and not step any further until you permit him to do so.  We practice this when we go for walks in the evening.

Not Growing Enough?

By Gary

Recently, Liz met another couple that also had an English Mastiff that was similar in age to Axel.  I was’t there but apprently the difference in size between them was significant with Axel being notably smaller.  This got our attention and we kinda realized that we hadn’t increased his food intake for a month.  We actually went by the feeding chart on the food bag but after looking at information online, the Mastiff’s should be eating a lot more than what’s recommended on the bags.

Currently we are feeding a heaped cup three times a day and if you look at his growth chart, you can see that he’s not gained too much weight over the last few weeks.  We’re going to increase this to 1.5 cups per feeding to see how it goes and maybe increase to 2 cups per feed in a week or so.

Basic Training - Day 3

By Gary

Let’s Go, Leave It, Take It and Say Hello were the commands we were tought today.  We were also shown leash walking techniques as this was one of  the main lessons of the day and how to correct him when he pulled etc.  Truthfully, since we got the new Easy Walker collar, Axel’s been pretty good on the leash and hardly pulls at all.  Guiding and correcting his direction when we need to turn left or right or navigate a series of small turns is also easier with the Easy Walker.  But regardless, if he does exhibit unwanted pulling bahaviour then we have to pin him against a wall (or other readily available virtical surface) with our adjacent leg to discourage it.  This sounds a little harsh but in reality, it’s not as bad as it sounds.  If there’s no wall or surface to pin the dog against, we have to perform a Sit and wait for a few seconds before resuming the walk.  Axel is being trained to walk on the left and though there’s no reason why he shouldn’t walk on the right, our instructor prefers to walk on the left also.  Interestingly, when she asked the question "does your dog walk on the left or the right?" to the class, we were the only ones who walked our dog on he left.  When beginning to walk on the leash from a Sit, we now have to issue a Let’s Go command and lead off with our left leg - though it would be the right leg if the dog was walked on the right.

Leave It involves dropping a tasty treat on the floor - directly infront of the dog while covering it with your foot.  Basically, you get the dog’s attention by tapping your foot near the forbidden treat while maintaining the ability to cover it if you have to.  When the dog fixates on the forbidden treat you issue a Leave It command.  Once the dog looks at you, you reward him with a small treat and push him away from the forbidden treat.  This is repeated over and over with the goal is to get the dog to ignore the forbidden treat using the Leave It command.  This is a command you would use to stop the dog from drinking, eating or picking up something that would cause him or her harm for example.  It can be used to tell the dog to leave cats alone as well as other distractions that get his or her attention. 

Take It is a command that I don’t think we will worry about too much as it tells the dog to go ahead and take the forbidden treat after you have told him not to.  The trainer’s analogy for this command was a dropped saussage link from a cookout where the dog was told to Leave It first and then rewarded with a Take It.  With Axel, we’re having enough trouble with the Leave It command without muddying the waters!  LOL

Say Hello is the command that’s going to be the most difficult to teach because it invloves interaction from other people.  Walking Axel around Pet Smart always gets people’s attention and it’s not long before we have kids, dogs and adults greeting him on every turn.  While the social aspect of this is wonderful, the distractions while in training are not so welcome.  If a person comes up to us and says "can I pet your dog?" then we’re supposed to respond as follows:-

"Yes you can but he’s in training and has to be given permission to say Hello first".  With that, you have the dog Sit and give the visitor a treat to give to your dog.  Before the visitor gives the treat, you issue the command Say Hello to your dog and then have the user give the treat.  The idea is that you are giving the dog permission to greet the visitor.  In the real world, not everyone asks permission and just immediately fusses the dog.  I dunno how we will do with this one but we’ll see how it goes. 

Basic Training - Day 2

By Gary

We had Axel’s second day of training this morning and we really couldn’t be any more proud of him than we are right now.  Living with him on a daily basis kinda numbs you to how big he’s getting!  We obviously see it but when you see him compared to other similar aged dogs, it’s startling!  He’s getting to be somewhat of a teacher’s pet in class as he does so well at pretty much anything we have to do with him.  This is still a basic class but today’s commands were sit, down and settle.  He was already pretty good at sit and down but settle was a new one!  Settle has him going from a down to a position where his back legs are sticking out one side, it’s a little more relaxed than the down position.  With  6 dogs in the class, Axel is pretty calm after the initial greetings that go on when we all meet when class begins.

We also discussed the best options for collars and harnesses.  Our trainer recommended we try the "Gentle Leader" which leads the dog by a link at the chest.  This avoids the choking affect a regular collar inflicts when the dog pulls.  When we got to Pet Smart for training, Axel pulled like a tank on his regular collar and navigating the store was tough!  After class and after we had him fitted with the new Gentle Leader collar by the trainer, we went for a second walk around the store.  All I can tell you is WOW!  It was a staggering difference and we actually ended up walking around the store a little longer than we needed to.  It also had an effect on how people saw him, calm and approachable.  We had 9 and 10 year old kids coming up to him and asking if they could pet him which we replied, go ahead, please do!  It was really that huge of a difference.

We found Axel’s Breeder

By Gary

You have to love the internet!  If you’ve read any of this blog, you’ll know that Axel came from a Pet Shop and not directly from a breeder - not to us anyways.  We had his Kenel Club papers which listed his blood line and "family tree" but no info on his origin really.  Over the last few weeks, I’ve been asked how big his father was when discussing how big Axel will actually grow.  So today we did a query for his fathers name and breeder’s last name and was actually able to get in contact with his breeder.  A quick email to her and we got a response back with a little more info on his parents.  This was great as we now have a little insight into Axel’s past.

The parents of Axel are Jack and Abby.  Jack who is a little over 200 lbs stands about 30 inches high at the shoulders and is fawn with a black mask.  He’s a little over two years old celebrating his second birthday in September 2007.  Abby is a little smaller regarding weight but stands about the same height as Jack.  Abby is about 6 months older than Jack and is apricot with a black mask.

We intend to point Dee to this blog so she can get a little insight into how Axel’s progressing and enjoy the photos that we upload as we move forward. We’re not sure if we can get any photos of Jack and Abby just yet but we will post more info on them if we get any.

Dealing with Unwanted Behaviour

By Gary

For the last week or so, we’ve been taking Axel for about a mile and a half walk and he’s very good on the leash as it is.  Remembering that he’s a puppy and that there are still things in this world that he’s never seen before and has to get used to, he’s prone to distractions when we go for walks.  Cars driving by don’t scare him but they do cause him to stop and look.  Kids shouting draw his attention and passers by only add to the excitement.  All in all though we’re very happy with his progress and really enjoy the walks with him.

As far as we’re concerned, we only have one undesirable issue with him and that’s the rambunctious nipping and biting fits he has.  These are usually taken care of by walking him which tires the little guy out!  Today was rough tough and even though we had walked him, he still pulls this crap from time to time.  It’s a little hard to deal with as we don’t want to be confrontational with him but in the same breath, he has to stop it so we end up being reactive which usually elevates the problem as he things its all just fun and games.

We are trying a new suggestion out where we have a spray bottle with a 50/50 mix of white vinigar and water in it.  We tried it today when he started his bad behaviour and it seems to work.  He doesn’t like it and stops the non-wanted activity so we’ll see how it goes.  If this fails, we’ll be using a training collar.

Basic Training - Day 1

By Gary

Axel and I went to his first basic training class today at PetSmart.  We were the first to arrive and though we hadn’t met the instructor previously, she said "ah, this must be Axel!" when we walked toward her.  Another guy was standing talking to her with asuperb Boxer pup, who Axel was very excited to meet!

We walked into the training room and were first to arrive.  Soon to come was the first lady with a really small and cute Yorkie.  This little guy was only about 8 inches long and when Axel greeted him, Axel dropped to his belly which apparently is a good thing!  By the time the other 4 dogs were in, it was a crazy leash untangling and swapping frenzy while the dogs all greeted and sniffed each other. 

With the initial greetings over, the class began and as with any initial class, a lot of talking and listening was done.  We left with two homework assignments; the first - roll the dog on his back while playing with him for about 15 minutes to show submission and secondly - to feed treats from between the owners eyes - forcing the dog to make eye contact and become comfortable with it.  These are two basic behavioural tasks that will allow trust between the owner and the dog so that training can go forward more smoothly.

We practiced the "Look Here" command in traing while holding the treat in an upside-down thumb and forefinger between the eyes.  Standing in front of the dog with him sitting and with the treat held between your eyes, the Look Here command is given and as soon as the dog makes eye contact with you, the treat is given.  This is repeated 10 times and on the 11th, the treat is placed back in your packet and a command to tell the dog "No More" or "All Gone" with a hand motion that signifies as such is given,  This way, the dog knows there’s no more - or will in time!  This is done 6 times a day with VERY small treats (total of 60), we used Puporoni but you can use whatever you’re comfortable with as long as the amounts are small.

The laying on the back is something Axel does easily - we just get him to laydown and roll him over!  As long as he has a toy in his mouth, this is something we can do all day long!  As stated, this shows submission on the dog’s part as it shows the dog’s neck (and jugular) to the Alpha (the owner) which goes a long way to establishing the dominance of the owner.

Once we were done in class, Axel pulled like a freight train on the way out!  Ugh, he’s so much better when we go for a normal walk so we’ll have to see how it goes but overall, his first day in class was a good one!

Taking the Rough with the Smooth

By Gary

This blog is all about the good but must include the bad too.  We have had a frustrating week with Axel.  Maybe it’s just growing pains, teething or just a phase but he’s been very pig-headed and appears to have regressed as far as his progess goes.  The worst behaviour that we’ve had to deal with is a nipping issue which is occaisonally accompanied by barking.  We’re concerned that this is a little aggressive but feel as though we’ve contributed to the problem ourselves.

We broke one of our rules a few days ago - he’s now allowed on the couch.  If I’m sitting on the couch and interact with Axel in any playful mannor, it ends up with him getting excited and he begins to lunge and nip at hands, clothes and arms.  These aren’t hard bites but they are persistant.  Personally, I’m a little less tollerant than Liz is and she actually has more patience with Axel than I do so I end up being more confrontational than I should be which only elevates the issue as Axel thinks I’m playing.  We’ve tried all of the human instincts like shouting, scoulding, pulling, pushing, holding and tapping his nose (not smacking) which do no good at all.  They may have an immediate short time effect but he soon becomes used to them and they become obstacles between us and him.

Liz got very concerned about this new behaviour and began researching similar issues on the internet.  We have come up with a new battle plan where we no longer use any confrontational tactics and as little shouting as possible.  Most of the issues we can avoid just by changing the way we interact with him.  The following are just a few examples:-

• If I’m sitting on the couch next to Axel, I’ll ignore him for the most part - especially if he’s playing with toys etc.  This avoids the elevation of nipping.  If the nipping does start for whatever reason, I’ll get up and leave him on the couch and ignore him.
• If he’s doing something he shouldn’t be, chewing furnature, digging at the carpet etc, then we will gain his attention and have him perform a sit, down or other simple command.  Once performed, he will be rewarded by giving him a chew toy or small treat.

• Leaving the house on his leash, entering it, getting in the car, receiving food or toys are all preceeded with a sit or paw command first so that he knows he has to do something for us first before he gets a treat or reward.

There are certain actions that we do as owners on a daily basis that don’t portray us as pack leaders to our new canine friends - such as laying down with them on the floor ‘cos they look cute!  LOL  I’m 100% guilty of this myself but for now I’ll avoid it (until he’s a 200 lb calm bear!) LOL  There are plenty of other things that we are still learning and to be honest, most of it is common sense but it takes a pretty big effort to change your ways as an owner.

With these changes, the last two days have been so much better and our training session begins on Saturday so we’re looking forward to that too.  Hopefully this phase will be over soon and we can come down from our Amber Alert status!

Growing Growing, Gone!

By Gary

The growth rate of this breed is nothing short of scary.  If you listen you can almost hear Axel growing! LOL  Okay, a little exagerated but to put it in a nutshell, in a month, he has grown approximately 4 inches in height, 4 inches in length and has gained 14.4 lbs.  He’s visibly bigger and has started the fugly stages where he’s losing the stocky and proportional build of a Mastiff.  Right now, his back legs are longer than the front giving him an awkward stance and walk.  He drags his back feet when he’s in the kitchen, you can hear it as plain as day when goes to his food bowl or to drink, it’s kinda funny!

Waking up from a nap, Axel has to stretch and ease into action.  You can see how he stiffens just by watching him, everything we’ve read about this is bang on the money!

The following two shots were taken 3 weeks apart and you can clearly see Axel’s growth progress; this isn’t even a month and the last week he put on over 5 lbs of weight too!  Check out the growth chart to see how he’s doing.  We’ll update it on a weekly basis for the time being.