Who's Training Who?

The day of our Spring Cleaning Party it was snowing.  We need the precipitation badly but I was really bummed that it was snowing on the day we were to welcome in Spring!  Phooey.  The bad weather kept a few guests away but the rest of us had a great time "cleaning" and playing board games.  We wrapped things up about 11 p.m. and then this morning Drake had a training appointment.

I am so thrilled with Drake's trainer Christine, and with him!  He is such a fast learner that we are convinced that he's had previous training.  So now we are giving him a refresher, letting him know that the rules still apply and how to deal with the new distractions that are unique to our home, i.e. cats, deer, etc.

The first training appt. we reviewed the basics: sit, down, stay, come.  She also taught him how to "leave it."  This is a fun game that we can build on to manage bigger issues.  We do this by putting super yummy treats in my hand.  With my hand closed in front of him I tell Drake, "leave it" and then slowly open my hand to reveal the treats.  If Drake tries to eat them I quickly close my hand saying "uh-oh!  Leave it."  Then repeat until he can sit with the treats presented in his face with out him even nosing them.  He mastered this after about 4 tries. 

We also learned some signs/commands to help him calm down when overly excited which lead to calmly "getting dressed" (leashed up) for a walk.  His biggest obstacle to overcome this week was after being leashed, staying in a "sit-stay" even when the door was open, until I released him.  We almost got that one.

Today our trainer ('cause let's face it, Drake is not the only one being trained...) wanted to up the ante on "leave it" by seeing if Drake, when laying down, could ignore the food when it was placed on the floor right between his front paws.  We also addressed his rough play.  Drake sometimes grabs our sleeves or the edge of our shirts when playing with the kids.  This is reinforced by the Super Wrestling time he has with Aaron.  When he wrestles with Aaron he grabs Aaron's arm.  Realistically, Drake could rip that arm off but he knows his limits with Aaron, tones down his play with the boys and even more so with me.  Drake needs to learn to stop the play when we are finished.  So this will be Aaron's homework this week.  It's kind of fun homework!  Wrestle with Drake and then use "leave it" to have him release your arm and then "sit-stay" followed by lots of praise to signal that play time is over.  We also practiced getting up and off of the couch.  Drake is allowed on the furniture downstairs only upon INVITATION.  He loved this game!



Drake playing "lap-dog" with Aaron prior to training.

 Today's biggest achievement was taking Drake on an actual walk!  Our previous walks have been wrought with adventure, to put a positive spin on it.  Christine was undaunted by my tale of being dragged down a gravel road while Drake danced around the hooves of an agitated horse.  The weather was cold and foggy.  Perfect weather for deer.  After working hard with Drake to wait before plowing through the door or gate we ventured out down the driveway.  Right away we spotted deer up behind one of my neighbors house.  Drake did not seem to notice as they were heavily veiled by the fog.  The walk down the drive was spent getting him to "heel."  He got this pretty quickly, even before we got all the way down the driveway.  This further confirmed to us that he has had previous training.  She said that she's had Service Dogs that she's trained that have spent weeks on "heel" and Drake nearly had it perfected in minutes.

We kept the walk between the two house on our road that have horses.  Christine demonstrated to me how to distract Drake when he became excited or anxious about the horses and then had me walk him at a "heel" and practice redirecting him from the distractions on our walk.  Then came the deer....

Christine had Drake at this point (thank God!)  Drake was not as easy to refocus once the deer were in his sight and took Christine on a little ski-pull down the hill but it was short lived.  She has fabulous composure and control of the dog.  It shook her up a bit though as this was her first taste/demo of Drake's strength and determination.  She walked him up the hill and away from the deer to practice redirection with something less intriguing like the horses.  Then we went back down for more teasing with the deer.  Again, he took her down the road a bit but not as much as the first time.

She had me practice walking him some more and then we took him back up to the house.  The deer were very close to the house at this point so Christine took the leash again.  This time the deer were probably less then 20 feet away.  Drake was very interested, cried and quivered a bit but demonstrated amazing self-control by not even pulling toward them.  He stayed at a "heel" all the way up the hill.  Even after we got in the fenced yard, Christine would not let him off the hook.  She made Drake wait and wait before letting him go.  He had to do several focus tricks before she finally let him go and then....

"Jesus!" gasped Christine at the sight of Drake tearing down the hill to the deer on the other side of our fence.  Mud flew, muscles rippled as he kicked up his haunches at full speed and the deer scattered! 

"Well, I have a much better idea of what you are contending with now.  That dog's a machine!"  I think it speaks volumes that Drake's intense power and physique impresses people like vets and trainers; people who work with dogs all the time.

After Drake got the run out of him we brought him in and I cleaned all of the wet mud from him.  I tried not to cry.  At the start of the walk I was fine but every time the leash came into my hands I felt my anxiety rise.  With each encounter with the deer in the horses I got more and more nervous.  Christine went on and on about how amazing Drake was.  He will succeed but the work is only about 20% Drake's.  The rest is on me.  She gave me so much information and instruction...I'm trying not to feel overwhelmed but I realize how much of the responsibility is mine.  I have to train my emotions and tell my spirit to release it's grip on those nerves.  Leave it.

After we got Drake cleaned up, Christine and I spent some time reviewing everything she had showed me today.  She wrote some things down for me to help me with recall during the week.  She assured me that I was doing great and that if I ever get frustrated while working with him during the week, to take a break and come back to it later.  I love her!

Drake has been sleeping on the floor since she left about 2 hours ago.  In fact he's laying next to me right now, softly snoring.  Good job Pony Boy!

The Couch Potato Work Out

After watching my girls, Olivia and Hannah, kick butt on Biggest Loser last night (and after seeing my scale creep up to the No-No Number) I decided that I would be hitting the gym first thing in the morning.

I woke up and suited up in my work out clothes.  Hello Yoga pants.  Haven't seen you in awhile.  I thought that I would drive the kids down to the bus stop and leave straight from there that way I would not come home and dream up some excuse not to go.

Spring time snow is different then winter snow.  Winter snow is dry, light and packs on the road.  Spring snow is wet, heavy and melts on the ground as soon as it hits.  Sometimes it completely melts away but other times you are left with slush.  On dirt roads it's a muddy slush! 

Despite this, I drove fearlessly down to the bus stop.  I saw my neighbor Kevin's car at the stop as well.  I put the car in neutral and gave a slow break.  I began to slide. Oh.  Remember what to do...Don't panic.  Another slow break.  I did.  I gave it another slow break and the car obeyed and stopped with still another cars width of room between Kevin and I.  The bus pulled up and I got the kids out for hugs and kisses.

"I almost hit you Kevin!"  I called out to him.

"I know.  I was getting ready to pull forward a bit."

"Nah.  Your wife taught me well."

"Where is your coat crazy woman?"

"In the house.  I'm just running down to the gym and the grocery store."

"No you're not.  Not on these roads.  They're too slushy.  Follow me home."

"But not too closely!"  Caren called out from the car.

If the Mountain People tell you not to drive then you don't.  I obediently followed them home with no incident.  Kevin parked down in front of his house.  I pulled up next to him and rolled down my window.

"I did it!"

"Yeah you did!  You did great!"

"Thanks.  Now we'll see if I can get up my drive way."

"I'm not even gonna try."

Hm...if Kevin doesn't think his car can get up the drive I probably shouldn't try either.

I tried anyway.  She only made it about 1/3 of the way up so I slipped and slided her into a parking spot down by the wood pile.  Boo.  I was just thinking yesterday how it's been a long time since I've heard anyone tease me about being One Step Closer to being a Mountain Woman.  I thought maybe I had graduated to that.  Not quite.  When I have a 4X4 then I'll be a Mountain Woman.

If I've learned anything from the Biggest Loser this season it's that there can be no excuses.  If you have an excuse you have to counter it with a solution.  Since I watched the BL last night I did not get to watch the result show for Dancing with the Stars.  I let Drake in and watched the result show I had DVR'd, running up and down my stairs during the commercial breaks.  This was a great work out and it's my understanding that stopping and going like that is great for burning calories.  It was also a nice little work out for Drake.

At first he kept trying to do the stairs with me but this was scaring me because he's such a Hulk and he could accidentally knock me down the stairs.  I put him in a sit-stay at the bottom of the stairs and kept going.  Up, down, up, down, up, down.  I think I counted going up and down about 12 times until the commercial break ended.  I didn't keep count well though because my mind was wandering.  Can never turn this brain off.

"All done," I said to Drake, his cue to break from his sit-stay.  I rewarded him with a bit of hot dog and cheese.  (Can you believe his progress with just one meet up with a trainer?  He's amazing!)  We did this during every break and I think there were 6 of them.  I lost count.  I worked up a sweat and everything.  I'm going to start a new program: The Couch Potato Work Out.  You can still sit and enjoy your shows but you have to do some sort of work out during all of the commercials. 

I did a little of this during Biggest Loser.  I did it more like a drinking game though.  Every time they showed Olivia and Hannah in a "confessional" type interview then I would have to do 25 push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks or the like.  Those two talk so much though that I was only able to do it for the first hour of the show.  Then I gave up.  I know...not very Biggest Loser of me. 

For Grey's Anatomy one could do a work out every time one of them says "Seriously."  Ha!  Or every time there is a trauma or something.  Probably the most consistent thing though would be to work out during the commercials.  I think this could catch on.  You still get to curl up on the couch and watch your shows but you sneak in a little extra for your body at the same time.  I think this is genius!  Seriously. 

Drop and give me 25.

The Great Drake Strikes Again

The Great Drake is a turd!  Oh how I love this dog but he is killing me!  First of all he has lived here for 3 months and he is still not used to the cats.  He wants to eat them and Aaron kind of wants him to.  My cats are mean and they taunt him.  When he is peering into the window they go up to it hissing and they box at it.  Something they would never do if there was not double paned glass between them and the dog.  Thank God it's double paned because I'm pretty sure he could go through it. 

Last night Drake was in the mud room (his room) eating and getting ready for bed.  Smee went up to the door and hissed and pounded on it.  I mean, really!  How rude!  That's his room!  His space!  Aaron wants to just let the door open and see how brave they are then.  In a way I get his train of thought.  It would serve those mean cats right but...he would eat them.  I would never see Drake the same.

One of my friends bought him a Gentle Leader to help him on his walks.  It works wonderfully!  It has immediate effects and keeps him from pulling.  Since the break, we had only taken walks to the bus stop and on our hill.  Today is beautiful and his foot is healed so I thought we would do the 3 mile loop we used to do.  Drake was so excited he peed on my shoe while I was leashing him.  Thank God he did not release the whole tank!

The Gentle Leader did it's job and Drake did not pull.  He did stop to sniff some things.  As an experiment, I thought I would see what it would take for me to pull him away from such a spot.  He was sniffing.  I held the leash and completely leaned back like a water skier.  It did not budge him.  He is so strong!  Anywhoo, we continued our walk.  Caren drove by and waved.  A few seconds later she called my cell.

"How'd we look?"  I asked.

"You guys looked great!  I'm calling to warn you though, there is a herd of deer between Laurel's and Victoria's."

"Hmm...."

"I just wanted to warn you.  You  might want to turn around."

"K.  Thanks."

"I just saw a blue truck drive by.  Maybe it will scare 'em."

I did not want to turn around.  We were only about a half mile into the walk.  I decided to just sort of test it out.  We walked on.  As we approached Laurel's I saw the blue truck pass.  I slowed down a little.  We were on a hill and on the other side of the peak I could just see the tops of the deer as they were crossing the street.  Drake did not see them.  I waited and "let" him sniff around a bit.  I was hoping to give the deer time to cross and travel on a little deeper into the wood.  After a bit, we pressed on. 

Drake started to pull some but the way the Gentle Leader works is that when the dog pulls, it turns their head.  Kind of like a horse lead.  So he would pull and his head would turn.  I could tell he could smell the deer but he had not seen them.  I did though.  There was one just on the side of the road but he was camouflaged pretty well.  I think Drake's struggle with the lead was distracting him too.  And so we made it past the deer with out incident!  Drake continued to walk by my side, loose leashed.  No pulling!

I was so thrilled and was penning a letter to Gentle Leader in my head, thanking them for their miracle product, when Drake started to pull a bit again. 

Oh great.  He smells something.  This time I could not see what it was.  He started pulling and looking back behind us so I thought we had passed whatever it was.  (In hind sight, I think he was looking back because the lead was turning his head back.)  We turned a corner and there they were.  About 6 deer in a meadow that is sort of bowl shaped.  We were on the top edge of that bowl and off he went.  I was not going to be dragged down the edge and so, once again....sigh....I let him go.

I finished my walk home, pissed, trying to figure out a way to convince my husband to let me enroll Drake into obedience school.  Pete saw me on the road.

"Didn't you have a dog with you?"

"Ha."

"Don't give up.  He's a great dog, just extremely strong."

"Tell me about it."

"If I see him I'll bring him in."

"Thanks."

At the house I armed myself with sausage treats.  I got in the car and went out to hunt him down.  I called for him all over the loop.  (I drove from the house to the spot he got away and clocked it.  That's how I know we only had .6 miles left when he escaped.)  I saw a jogger and asked if she'd seen him. 

"Nope."

"If you see him, he's very big but he's a lover."

I drove all over and could not find him.  I asked everyone I passed and no one had seen him.  Finally, I talked to a guy in a truck who had spotted him.

"Big yellow dog?  All muscle?"

"That's him!"

"Someone tied him to some mailboxes up the road.  Just keep going around the loop."

"Hooray!  Thank you!"

I drove on and sure enough, there he was.  He was laying by the mailboxes, panting.  He didn't even get up when I pulled up.  I got one of my treats and walked over to him.  My guess is that the jogger found him because she had unhooked his leash from his lead and passed one end through the handle of the leash and then latched it back to the lead.  If you did not know Drake I think you would be afraid to approach him let alone get down on the ground and do all of that.  He ate his treat and I "untied" him.

"What am I gonna do with you Bud?"

I just couldn't resist those deer!

"You have to get over it.  You have to get over the cats and the foxes and the skunks and the deer.  You are going to break your foot again or get sprayed by a skunk or kicked by a deer."  Drake hung his head and tucked his tail.  "Come on.  I love you.  I just don't want you to get hurt.  Or to hurt me."  He slowly got in the car, either too tired or to ashamed of himself to move with any urgency.

We pulled into the driveway.  I held his leash while I opened the door.  As soon as I opened the gate to our yard, Drake jerked the leash out of my hands again and sprinted into the yard!  There were 4 deer in our yard!  They all leaped the fence.  It was beautiful!  I totally see why people would think they could fly.  They don't even need a running start!  Just gorgeous!  I was so glad that they were in the yard and not out.  Drake ran along the fence, frustrated that he could not jump it too.  (Though I'm surprised he can't.)

After he saw that they were not coming back, he returned up the hill where I had a huge bowl of water waiting for him in the shade.

*sigh*  What to do about Drake?

From Sunshine to Snowflakes

Our time in Texas was insanely lovely.  Insane schedule.  Lovely time.  I have realized that I can not go to Texas for vacation.  I go to Texas to visit and I need LOTS of time for visiting.  Our trip this summer will be longer to ensure that I don't just catch glimpses of my loved ones but have quality time with them! 

Regrets: I wish I had set up a coffee date with April.  I am sad that I did not get to share some laughs with Stephanie.  It was so good to see Claire but what I really would like is for our complete families to be able to get together.  We have not been able to achieve that in years.  I was very tempted to stop by Janice's for time out on her back patio with iced tea as only she can make it.  Who knew a Canadian would make the best iced tea in Texas?  I did not get enough time with my old Pizza Night Crew.  I forgot to ask Jen and Michelle how the boys are liking kindergarten and I think Rob and Mike took it a bit easy on the insults with me.  I miss their abuse and I miss dishing it back.  No one in CO gives me a hard time like those two but then nobody here is like a pesky brother to me.  And then there are my Dallas Peeps.  Completely missed out on them this week!

Highlights:  FAJITAS AT LUPE'S!!!!  This was a double shot of awesome because I dined with my girl, Lesley!!  We started at her home and dipped fruit into chocolate (because it's the only way to eat fruit.)  Then we went out for pedicures.  Fun!  The gals doing our feet talked to each other in...I don't know...Korean?  I do hate that part.  I'm pretty sure my girl said "Holy $#*@!  Have you ever seen bear claws like these?"  And Lesley's gal was like, "Yeah...that's...wow.  Sorry about that." 

We walked into Lupe's growling and drooling.  The silly people handed us menus!  We began with queso and swirled margaritas.  Mistake.  I had hardly any room for my beloved fajitas!  I tried...how I tried...but it was not to be.  Les and I boxed our meals.  I wrote "The Essence of Life" across the top of my box.  "Tomorrow my love," I whispered.  "Tomorrow."

The other awesomely awesome thing was that we were in Texas in the SPRING!!!  The bluebonnets were in bloom!  I have to say though that they are a bit sparse this year.  I'm not sure if it's the cold weather or if we arrived a bit early but there were still enough for us to pop a squat and get some pics.  Last year I had sown some bluebonnet seeds in our front bed.  We got about 3 blooms from it.  When we pulled up to our house this year I was thrilled to find a gorgeous display!  I really hope they spread to the yard!

My garden needed some attention and I was all too happy to give it.  I got in the dirt Tuesday.  I weeded and even pulled out a few of my plants that were growing where I did not care for them to.  I got the shears and cut back the spent growth from the fall to allow the plants to focus their energies on the new growth.  We lost a couple of plants from the freeze this winter but mostly everything is growing along splendidly!

I had almost forgotten about CO and that I did not live in TX anymore.  I was back in my old home, that still had some of my old furniture and decor in it.  Things that would not fit in our home here.  When at a friends home it was even easier to forget that we were just visiting.  Nothing was foreign.  I knew exactly where I was driving and what to expect of the people and places that I ventured.  I was really missing Drake, and Baking Day, and then Caren called...

She asked how are visit was going and then said she had a little bit of bad news.

"Drake got out."

"What?  Oh great."

"He's at one of our neighbors.  She called me..."

"I got him a tag before we left.  I wonder why she didn't call me?"

"I don't know," she said, "but I have her information.  Do you have a pen and paper?"

I was in a car full of kids and could barely hear her.  I tried to get them to pipe down while I dug a pen and paper from my purse.  (I wasn't driving BTW.)

"OK, I'm ready,"  I said.

"Her first name is April,"

"OK," and then to the kids, "Guys, guys!  I'm on the phone.  Shhhh!  I'm sorry Caren I did not get the last name.  Could you spell it?"

"F-O-O-L-S."

"Caren M!  You are going down!"  She burst into laughter and I was homesick for my friend.

The drive home was such a chore.  Aaron really wanted to crank those 16 hours out in one day.  He reserved a room in Amarillo just in case.  Both the boys were tired.  They did not complain much but there was an incident where a helium balloon WHOOSHED out the window at a rest stop.  Drew burst into tears.  Poor bub.  He was pooped.  Late in the afternoon Drew started to claim that he could "smell the hotel!"  He would rub his little hands together in anticipation!  He couldn't wait!  Aaron gave in and we stopped for the night at the room he had reserved.  "But we are leaving early tomorrow.  I mean 3 a.m."

And we did.  The boys and I slept in the car until about 6 a.m. while Aaron pushed us through Dalhart and the last bits of West Texas.  When the kids and I did wake up we were just past Raton, NM and in the mountains of CO.  We stopped for breakfast and Gabriel begged Aaron to buy him a newspaper.  My son with the Old Soul, read just the headlines.  He then passed the rest of the paper to his Daddy and dove into the Comics.  Yea!

The only evidence of Spring in CO was the wind.  It was crazy strong, bending the antenna on the car.  Tumble weeds raced across the road.  One Tumble Weed was so big that it made a THUMP sound when it hit our car!  As the winds howled I notice the aches in my hands starting to return.  At some point in the trip I traded my Texas allergies for my Colorado arthritis.  I don't know which is more bothersome. 

I put my nose in a book and read; looking up periodically to see how the scenery had changed and to check on Aaron.  His eyes were intense, ball cap low, unshaven face.  He was a man on a mission.  We passed through Colorado Springs and Castle Rock and then...I could see them.  Our mountains.  Aaron must've too because I felt we picked up speed.  The only thing that slowed us down were the cyclists and bikers.  Aaron hit the steering wheel as a particularly slow motorcyclists pulled in front of us. 

"What is this guy doing?!  He's riding a damn Crotch Rocket and going 30 mi/hr!"  Aaron ranted under his breath.

"Calm down.  Back off of him.  It would be a shame to have an accident or get a ticket this close to home."  I chuckled, Crotch Rocket!

As we pulled onto our hill we could see Drake laying in the yard.

"I don't think he knows it's us yet," I said.  But then he stood to his feet.  As we pulled up the drive he ran to the fence.  They're home!!

Once out of the car we all ran to the fence to love on him and promise him play time as soon as we were settled.  The boys and I played fetch with him while Aaron unloaded the car.  He looks a little pudgier and he played more aggressively.  He had a lot of pent up energy. 

After unpacking and having lunch, we all relaxed in our own way.  Aaron worked on the computer, the boys played the wii and I finished my book.  As I sat on the chaise reading, snow began to fall.  At first I was disappointed.  I just came from 80 degree weather where flowers were blooming and my friends were planting tomatoes.  Then I just let the soft drifting snow soothe me.  The view from my home is beautiful and it's a real sight when everything is covered in white.  This is not Texas.  It's a whole other bit of country with it's own ways and idiosyncrasies, like snowing in April.  There are things "here" that I would miss if I was "there."

Still, when the boys were getting ready for bed I heard Drew ask Gabe, "What was your favorite part of the trip Bubba? Mine was the elevator rides at the hotel in Austin!"  And then when we tucked them in Drew began to cry.  "I just want to go back to TX!"  I reminded him that we would go this summer.  He shuddered back the tears, wiped his nose and began making his plans for the next visit.

Facebook Posts Explained

Facebook post: DRAAAAKE *@#$!

This morning I planned to volunteer at the school.  I let Drake out so the kids and I could suit up in the mudroom.  I gave the door an extra shove and locked it to be sure Drake did not push it open.  As the kids and I pulled away from the house we could see Drake at the fence watching us go.  Such a sweet sad face!

Poop.  I forgot to put on his boot....

Snow started to fall as I left the school at noon.  I already started figuring that I would put the cats away as soon as I got home so that Drake could come in for the afternoon.  Poor baby out in the snow.

When I pulled in the driveway I looked for Drake to come greet me at the fence, as is his custom.  However, Drake was no where to be seen.

Please tell me he did not get out.  Then another thought came to me: Is he in the house? 

I tried to remember how the morning went.  I specifically remembered seeing his sad face as we pulled away.  He had definitely been left outside. 

All of this is going through my head as I open the door and...DRAKE!  He greeted me at the door.  He did not jump on me, happy to see me.  He came to me and licked me and then cowered on the floor trying to tuck his little nub tail under.

"Oh no.  You are greeting me with an apology?  This is not good.  How did you get in?  What did you do to the cats?"

His boot was nearby so I put it on him and he willingly went with me to be put out. 

"Oh this is bad...." 

The mudroom has two doors.  One to let you in from the outside and another to close it off from the basement living area.  I noted that the inner door was shut.  I opened it and checked the mudroom.  That door was slightly ajar.  I twisted the knob and it was locked as I was sure I had done.  I guess I did not close it all the way?  I thought I had pulled on it to test it.  I don't know how he opened it but he did.  I shut and locked it again and it was kind of hard to latch.  I hope he did not break my door. 

I went upstairs for a damage assessment:

One loaf of bread was half eaten and the Ziploc it had been in was shredded.  (Note to self: buy a bread box)
A box of cookies had also been polished and the container destroyed.
Someone had slept on the couch.  (No damage done.)
A feather pillow in my bedroom had been torn into.  Not happy!
Sinclaire was found roosting on the boys top bunk and Smee was hunkered down under my bed. 

No blood or fur.  Not bad.

Facebook post: I just slipped on ice.  That's gonna leave a mark.

After getting the house picked up from Drake's break in I prepared myself a hot cup of tea.  I looked out at the snow while the water heated up.  I noticed that Aaron had not covered the grill on the back patio.  I did not want it to get too much snow on it so I decided to go out and cover it. I took maybe two steps off of the steps and my legs completely came out from under me (I must've looked like a cartoon) and BAM!  I landed on my right side.

It hurt enough to make me nauseous which scared me and I thought about staying there on the ground for a good cry.  I was able to get up though and walk into the house.  My right arm feels like I've just lifted a bunch of weights: sore and heavy.  My right hip and thigh are going to have some deep bruising.  The purple kind.  Hot.  I don't know how I landed on my side but also hurt both of my hands.  They are just scraped and the arthritis that was already aggravated is enraged. 

I feel 100 years old.
Love,
Mildred.