June in Coeur d'Alene: too hot for Ildi!

We took Ildi with us on a trip to Coeur d'Alene where Chad had an ironman race. It was actually a great experience with her because of the crowds - she actually settles down a bit and doesn't try to jump on everyone (which she would do if there was just one or two people around). It was also interesting as we discovered this crowd (of super athletic people) know her breed very well. And several couples came up to us to get their Vizsla fill as they had left their Vizsla at home. She was the star of the event!

Though it was also her first time in hot weather - with temps around 30C every day. While we tried to always keep her with us - not stuck in the car, we noticed that by the end of 2nd day she was drooling uncontrollably. One the 3rd day in CDA (2nd day of drooling), we were extremely concerned and started googling and emailing friends for advice. One site suggested it could be puppy warts and with a thorough check of her mouth we did discover some (they looked like canker sores as they were just beginning to form). But I actually think the problem was the heat (though it was good to discover the warts too). I kept her in the AC'ed hotel room on the 4th day in CDA (race day) and that stopped her drooling finally. It was scary to learn that just being outside (and usually in the shade) with only short car trips was having such an affect on her. We know for future we have to be super careful with her on our road trips! (the 2nd picture is of her hiding under the bed - heat exhausted)

Also of note, she was legendary on this trip for not coming when called! by the end (30min of trying to get a hold of her!) I was furious!! She would just turn and run in the opposite direction if I tried to get close to her and there was no way she was coming when I physically called her. I tried every tactic I could of - being super fun and cheerful as I called her, being very firm (but calm), running away from her, poking in the grass (so that it looked I discovered something interesting) and even trying to be very zen like and sitting on the ground sending positive thoughts for her to come. NOTHING worked!! Finally, I tried poking around in the dirt more (as that's what she kept returning to a certain sport for) - and had to lift this enormous log - so that it created a fresh spot of earth for her sniff.
I think this is beginning of her rebellious stage...

April 23: Back to basics

Well, after a couple incidents in a row of Ildi not coming when called while off-leash - which resulted in her getting dangerously close to Sarcee Trail. So Ildi is back to getting very little off-leash time and we're doing lots of recall training. We're back to do doing some research and reading on how to improve her recall. Some of the new games and training are:
- hide and seek in the house (she stays in one room in a stay and we go into another room and call her). She comes charging full speed to try and find what room we're in - sometimes, she has to climb the stairs or make tight corners - it's always fun to hear her running with all her enthusiasm to find us! it's undoubtedly helping that we started to using chunks of kraft cheese slices as her treat. (maybe I should list out that as a separate 'trick' :) We joke that we should change the command to 'cheese'!
- recall while on the extendable leash in the park - that way we can give her a tug if she doesn't immediately come. We try to keep doing this when she's especially engaged in some scent.
- using the Come command for the things she likes and will come typically come for - dinner, walk time.

and things we make sure we never do:
- don't use the Come command unless we're sure she will come (so she will never learn that it's ok to not come when called.
- never have anything negative happen when she does come when called, for example, don't put her leash on her when you call her and definitely don't discipline her for anything when she's come when called.

today's pictures of her enjoying a warm, sunny afternoon in the yard - Ildi enjoying one her favourite activities - chewing on a big stick.

week of Jan. 25

we decided to turn our 'pee log book' into more of a timetable so that we could start to see the patterns/ time of day of when Ildi needs to 'do her business'. There is definitely a pattern and this helps us relax a little on the constant trips outside! on average, she's doing 12 pees and 7 poops a day! a few accidents inside this week, but really we can only blame ourselves - it's hard to remember that we've only had her 2 weeks.

We've been trying to train Ildi to ring a bell that we've hung off the backdoor. To train her, we ring the bell ourselves every time we go out with her. And every once in a while she sits at the door when she has to go - seems like great progress already!

weight is up to 13.5lbs - still seems like a slow gain?

we've also been starting to play fetch with her. she now knows: sit, lie down, sit-stay, come.

I also took her to my parents house for an evening play session with their 2 big dogs. At first she was nervous meeting them, but then warmed up to the dogs and was just running everywhere once in side the house. She loved their toys and wanted to always play with the dogs - while they were playing more of a policeman role and following her everywhere as if to say 'i have my eye on you, don't do anything you shouldn't do'.