and write about tonight ...
I'm not even sure what all I want to write about. Definitely want to write a quick update on weekend activities with the dogs. I also want to write about my thoughts on nutrition before I become deeply entrenched in Monica Segal's books, which arrived yesterday.
I'll start with weekend training activities. Went out to club yesterday to do OB only as Marty was out of town. Since there was a fair number of people there I asked for help with preparing Tor for the BH. From what they have told me in the past, the normal temperament test portion is is quite a bit different than what we have done or seen in California. Judges tend to have the crowd of people circle and crowd the dog in the handler's absence. That's quite different and I wasn't quite sure how Tor would respond to that. He's basically a social dog but he definitely has an edge of aggression. And I want to make sure that I don't forget that as I am training him and preparing him for competition. He's really a very cool dog, but I need to remember who he is and train him accordingly. Anyway, he had no problems with that at all. The only time he even twitched in his down was when I walked around a vehicle in which the dog barked at me. He definitely looked up at that point. But I took it back down a notch and he was great. And as far as he was concerned those people walking circle around him while I wasn't at his side were simply interfering with his view. Other than that, he paid absolutely no attention to them.
He also did very well with a strange dog hanging out very near him, though we did not go any farther with that. Then I took him out and did a bit of OB on the field and a bit of bark and hold on the platform. The OB work was mostly about the jump and wall for the retrieve. He's an interesting dog, because he can generalize some things extremely quickly and easily, and then there are other things that don't generalize so easily. I guess I shouldn't be surprised - it took a little bit of effort to teach him to jump to start with. I'll definitely have to make a little more effort to work on the retrieve and jumps in different locations. The wall is just something that I'll have to figure out a way to work him on it often enough to build the pattern. He's such an athletic freak that getting over it is no problem at all, just need to build the pattern. Goof ball that he is, he could easily go over it in one direction only and put on quite an amusing display with his antics.
Hi bark and hold on the platform at the field is a bit perplexing. He locks up quite badly and his bark is truly pathetic. When I practice the bark & hold on the deck in the back yard, it is really quite nice - very strong barking, for sure, though he doesn't really go into any sort of a seated or crouching position. But his position is very stable, no moving about. At the field he is constantly moving back and forth, and side to side, and even coming off the platform. So, I guess I need to take my little platform around and work the bark and hold in different locations on that, too. I'm not particularly worried about - he has a very strong natural barking behavior. I just don't really want him to be practicing a poor version of it too often.
On other fronts, his launching behavior, jumping for a bite is getting very good. He seems to be a little more confident catching a pillow or sleeve presented to my left rather than to my right. So, I'll have to be sure that I give him plenty of practice on the right side. But he is flying over the jump with great speed and power. I think that Gata may still carry a little more speed and power than him in this exercise, but not by much.
Gata, on the other hand, continues to do pretty much everything just the way you expect her to in training. The use of the platform in barking has increased her intensity and duration, and reduced the stuttering that she had gotten into the habit of doing. I still need to work on her long down and her out of motions. But, none of that is surprising. Thinking about working on her out of motions a different way. There is no question that they have gotten better and faster over time. But it is the one set of exercises that are consistently less than excellent with her.
So, I'm considering using a method that I have seen Frans use for the back transport - essentially pulling them forward and making them work to keep back in position. This is something that I would start with very differently - probably while practicing position changes. I would have her wearing some sort of harness and put a line on the front ring of it. To make it even clearer for her, I might put her on the platform or back deck. As I ask for a position, I would pull on the line a little, encouraging her to work harder to stay back.
With all the uncertainties regarding her collapses, I'm not sure that Gata will ever compete in Schutzhund ,or anything else, again. But, she's definitely not a dog ready to retire from training, so we'll keep playing around at various different things. Who knows? Maybe we'll compete in something again someday.
Now on to the nutrition part of things. I am really looking forward to reading Monica Segal's books. I was very impressed with her approach to the issues when I talked to her about what is going on with Gata. She is in no way stuck in a single approach. She simply tries to figure out a solution for the dog, regardless of what it takes.
That is one thing that I find so incredibly tiresome in dogs - people become so entrenched in an ideal that they simply stop thinking. I see this in training as well as nutrition. Well, let's be honest, I see this in just about all facets of life. You don't have to hold an extreme opinion to be an extremist - you just have to hold any opinion extremely. It's just most obvious when you hold an extreme opinion extremely.
Anyway, I digress. There are a few things at this point that I feel pretty strongly about:
1. Feeding raw is more "natural" and therefore better for dogs. This whole idea that feeding dogs the same way that wolves would eat is a farce. Dogs have long since split from wolves and become far more specialized to co-exist with man. Plus, I certainly do hope that my dogs will live a great deal longer than the average wolf. Who's to say that the stress, illnesses, injuries believed to contribute to the relatively short lifespan of wolves aren't in some way linked to nutritional stresses or deficiencies or ???
2. The concept of "Balance over Time" is entirely wrong. If I am going to be asking my dogs to perform various different things on a daily basis then I better be feeding them appropriately. I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in ever again thinking about balance over time. I will do my damnedest to give my dogs a balanced diet on a daily basis.
3. Carbohydrates - The whole mantra that dogs can't digest grains or grain products is wrong. I'm not sure that all dogs need grains, but I am absolutely sure that most dogs can use them (though not necessarily all types of grains). And I am equally sure that there are some dogs, like Tor, who really benefit from a steady supply of grain-based carbohydrates.
4. Fats - These still confuse me. I totally get the concept that Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids are required and that dogs require more Omega 6 fatty acids than Omega 3s (about 5-10 to 1). But I don't really get understand the basis for some of the more current fads in oils - like coconut or borage oils. Everyone is so high on coconut oil and yet it has a VERY low poly-unsaturated fat content. Thus a very low amount of either Omega 3 or Omega 6 fatty acids. Whereas corn oil has much more poly-unsaturated fat than saturated fat and that poly-unsaturated fat is primarily Omega 6 fatty acids (7224 mg) versus Omega 3 fatty acids (157 mg).
So, now I guess I need to pay attention to saturated vs. unsaturated in addition to Omega 3 vs. Omega 6.
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