No, this isn't the book by Judith Vorst but I think the title is appropriate. First of all, let me assure you that Rogue is fine, but she gave us a scare that we won't soon forget and a very harsh lesson about the perils of living with a deaf dog.
Curt came home at night and forgot to close the garage door before opening the door to the house. Rogue darted out the door and proceeded to gleefully romp around our very dark neighborhood. She was hit by a pickup truck. Due to soft puppy bones and physics, she emerged remarkably unscathed and barked her fool head off at the truck as my traumatized husband rushed her into the house to make sure she was okay. The guy in the truck had to pull over because he was so upset.
Rogue is not just deaf. She's a door darter and a car chaser. She's an independent, fearless little girl who is currently in the you're-not-the-boss-of-me teenage stage. It's a dangerous combination that almost ended in tragedy... but it didn't.
So, what are we doing about it. Well, we bought a vibrating collar. It has shock setting that we have no intention of using, but it was one of the better ones we could find. It's the Dogtra Hunter and was recommended by some friends. We're currently working on conditioning her to the vibration as a signal for eye contact.
Next, we are working on border training and rock sitting. What's rock sitting? Here's a little video my husband did of her in her rock sitting. It's quicker to teach than the border training and is a stop gap until the border training is complete. Because we'd already done a lot of work on pedestals, she was happy to go up on the rock to get treats. Note the tether.
If you're interested in learning more on boarder training, Kikopup has an awesome video of it here.
On a more positive note, she's now six months old and still stubbornly hovering under the 30lb mark. If she gets to thirty, i suspect that's where she'll stay. She's starting to look much more like a dog now.
Curt came home at night and forgot to close the garage door before opening the door to the house. Rogue darted out the door and proceeded to gleefully romp around our very dark neighborhood. She was hit by a pickup truck. Due to soft puppy bones and physics, she emerged remarkably unscathed and barked her fool head off at the truck as my traumatized husband rushed her into the house to make sure she was okay. The guy in the truck had to pull over because he was so upset.
Rogue is not just deaf. She's a door darter and a car chaser. She's an independent, fearless little girl who is currently in the you're-not-the-boss-of-me teenage stage. It's a dangerous combination that almost ended in tragedy... but it didn't.
So, what are we doing about it. Well, we bought a vibrating collar. It has shock setting that we have no intention of using, but it was one of the better ones we could find. It's the Dogtra Hunter and was recommended by some friends. We're currently working on conditioning her to the vibration as a signal for eye contact.
Next, we are working on border training and rock sitting. What's rock sitting? Here's a little video my husband did of her in her rock sitting. It's quicker to teach than the border training and is a stop gap until the border training is complete. Because we'd already done a lot of work on pedestals, she was happy to go up on the rock to get treats. Note the tether.
If you're interested in learning more on boarder training, Kikopup has an awesome video of it here.
On a more positive note, she's now six months old and still stubbornly hovering under the 30lb mark. If she gets to thirty, i suspect that's where she'll stay. She's starting to look much more like a dog now.
Tiny baby puppy
Not so tiny puppy
She went to a fundraiser with her Aussie siblings where we got this picture.
She's been to her first disc dog competition and gone lure coursing. She loves swimming in our pond and chasing the ducks who have realized she can't swim as fast as they can so they no longer feel the need to fly away from her when swimming will do. She's really so much like a normal puppy, that we forget that she isn't.
She's old enough now that Curt takes her to work with him as his demo dog. She is not in the least bit bothered by any barking dogs in his class and amused one of his classes by snoring. In a couple of weeks, she and Curt will attend one of Ron Watson's Pawsitive Vybe camps and I can't wait to see what they'll learn.
Swimming has been a blessing because it keeps her tired and a tired puppy doesn't have enough energy to get into (much) trouble. We do have to keep reminding ourselves that she IS still a puppy and she still needs her nap time.
Do you mind? I was sleeping?
By the time she's three years old, she'll be an awesome, mature, well trained dog. If only we can survive the next two and a half years. I don't think either of us will be looking to be adding another puppy to the family for awhile, but I wouldn't trade this headstrong, intelligent, sweet girl for anything.
