yay! a kindred spirit!

[Lemon]

I just had to come here and gush about the trainer I met today. I've been wanting to take another class with Lemon, but the way my freelance work has been lately, I just don't have the time. So I scheduled a private lesson to do some off-lead work.

Her name is Jamie, and she owns a school called Animal Sense. She came over, and we just *clicked.* Everything I brought up, she got all excited about. I mentioned that I was thinking about changing to a raw diet, and she went on and on about it. She's been doing it for years with her dogs and couldn't recommend it enough. Then she asked who my vet was, and she said the same thing that's been bothering me... "They're a conservative practice." I was about to ask her if she knew of a holistic vet, when she said, "Would you be open to a holistic vet?" Heh. She recommended one who sounds great. This vet does home visits, and believes in titers before automatically vaccinating. I can't wait to meet with her. She also recommended a couple books that I believe have been mentioned here... "At the Other End of the Leash" and "Culture Clash."

The only thing she mentioned that surprised me was handfeeding. She said, "She who controls the food controls the dog." We're halfway there, in that Lemon has to sit until we say she can eat. Has anyone heard of handfeeding as a technique? She thought it would help with a few of the issues we've had. I have to say, it was enlightening to watch Lemon with her vs. Lemon with me. Lemon obeyed her *immediately.* I never realized it, but Lemon challenges me a little bit. Hehe.

Anyway, I know I'm rambling. I've never met anyone who I could share information with like that -- which is why I love PV so much. It was just really refreshing, and it made me feel good to have her call me "a fantastic dog owner."

[seya]

Kathleen, I know how you feel. It's tough to find people "out there" who really appreciate how much we care about and dote on our fur-kids, sometimes. Even people who consider themselves "animal people" don't always GET IT, and I find that odd. But it sounds like you did find a great kindred spirit! Congratulations!

About the handfeeding ... I have read in books that handfeeding can promote the dog being attentive of you. I read that if you're having any sort of "attention" issues, then handfeeding encourages the dog to realize that you're an important person to have around, since all the food comes out of your hands. In the books I read it said to do the handfeeding for a week or so at a time, and that it would have remarkable results. Is that the same context you were told about?

[Lemon]

She didn't specify a length of time. I had a million questions for her, but I could only afford an hour. I felt like I was talking so quickly to get it all in! I think my initial response to her was, "Handfeeding? Raw food? Eww!" She laughed and said, "Throw out the food bowl!" I think I could handle a week at a time, though. The theory behind it makes sense to me. Lemon doesn't have attention issues, necessarily, but if she's questioning my leadership, it can't hurt to try.

One of the reasons I called her was because I'm interested in getting Lemon's CGC and maybe even doing competitive obedience. She said Lemon seemed to be an extraordinarily fast learner. Maybe she was just trying to make me feel good, but it was encouraging nonetheless.

[seya]

No, I'd believe her. I think it's possible for Pugs to really be fast learners, and especially with the kind of time and devotion to training (and patience!) that you've already invested in Lemon, I've no doubt you COULD compete in obedience sooner than later. When I look at how hard Mylo really tries to understand what I want from him, I can see a concerted effort in HIM, and I know that it's possible for any pug to be successful; they've all got it in them just as surely as that stubborn streak they're so famous for.

I was told before I got Mylo that pugs were "nearly impossible to train" ... but I did my own research and read books about Pugs specifically and lots of folks said otherwise, so :P on anyone who thinks Pugs are "untrainable"! Kathleen, I think you're doing an AMAZING job with Lemon, just to hear you talk about the things you've gone through and what your plans for the future are already. It's clear how much you're giving to Lemon in terms of time and dedication to her training. It'll be no time at all before you're competing in your first show..!

[Lemon]

Aw! Thank you, Daphne. You really made me feel good.

I honestly do it because I enjoy it so much. I love seeing Lemon learn. It's just so unbearably cute! And really, the more she learns, the more fun she is to be around. She makes things easy. She's still playful as all get-out and definitely stubborn at times, but without any of the struggles I expected from my first pug. If I need to trim her nails, she holds up her paw. If I need her to get inside, she comes running. That's so rewarding -- *especially* because I also heard over and over that pugs were nearly untrainable. Pshaw! If you make it fun and you're willing to put in the work, I can't imagine another breed wanting to please its owner as much as a pug.

[jwestoverpug]

Kathleen,

That's great! It's so important to really click with a trainer. I hear that all the time, "pugs are impossible to train". I've found it to be the complete opposite. All three of my pugs have been incredibly easy to train. They're so food motivated, and focused on their people, how could they not be easy to train if you put the time into it?

About hand feeding, I've done this with all of our pugs as puppies. Every day until they're about 4 months old. I still do it every once in a while. Since I've done it with all three since they were little I have no idea if it's made a difference or not, but it makes sense that it would.

Good luck with persuing competitive obedience. I was really thinking about it. I think Kittie could get her CD very easily, but we ran into some trouble in agility, it seems from her time in the show ring Kittie got used to only walking on the left. She's a little compulsive about it now. She's only comfortable on the left, if we do the dogwalk, and she's on the left she runs right across it, but if she's on the right, she jumps off every single time. She's also cutting me off to get on the left side. I decided to hold off on obedience titles becasue it will just reinforce that behavior. We could have avoided it if I would have given the right side a different name, and praised her for walking on that side too.

Jesse

[Lemon]

I think Kittie could get her CD very easily, but we ran into some trouble in agility, it seems from her time in the show ring Kittie got used to only walking on the left. She's a little compulsive about it now.

I have to say, that's pretty cute. I would think the show ring would be an amazing base for competitive obedience. So are you trying to retrain Kittie to walk on the right as well, or are you holding off on agility and obedience for the time being?

Lemon has a long way to go before we can consider competitive obedience. I'm excited about it. This new trainer offers tons of classes, including the CGC. Most of the test items, Lemon could do today. But she has to pass another dog and "show no more than casual interest"? Ha!

Truly, I'd love to do agility with her, but I can't help but think that her fearfulness would make it tough. For example, I *cannot* see her ever running into a tunnel or walking across the dogwalk. She's so tentative in new situations like that. We'll still take a class -- I think it'll be fun, even if it's not her thing.

[jwestoverpug]

We're sticking with agility for now. She has so much fun! Lemon may surprise you. The first class we went to started things very slowly. They did things like walking over ladders on the ground, a board, a board that would move just a little bit, tunnels, really low jumps. We did a lot of foundation work too, teaching them what it means to turn left and right, to go out away from you etc. Kitties favorites are the teeter, and the A frame. One day after she had been going to classes for about month, and doing a very low teeter she spotted the full height teeter, and charged for it. She did it and loved it, I can't keep her or Willy off the thing!

We may try for an obedience title in the future though. I just think to take her into more classes that require her to be on the left would make it really hard to teach her that both sides are okay.

Oh, and we've tried for our CGC, both Kittie and Willy screamed their heads off when I had to leave them. Rudy gets way too excited, and when Rudy is excited, she screams. That's how I know she's having fun. Somehow I don't think that would go over real well.

Jesse

[ruebella]

Kathleen,


What is "Raw Food"?

[Lemon]

Raw food is exactly as it sounds, raw meat mixed with vegetables and other important nutrients. It's a philosophy of eating that aims to feed dogs their evolutionary diet... which is just a fancy way of saying that dogs have eaten raw meat for millions of years, so why did we ever start feeding them processed kibble? There are risks, obviously, so please don't think I'm selling anyone on it. There's also no hard proof that it actually makes a difference, just the testimony of lots of dog owners, publications like the Whole Dog Journal and holistic vets. Because I tend to lean that way, I wanted to look into it -- even though the whole idea kind of freaks me out.

Some people go to the butcher, buy raw chicken, grind it up in their own grinder, and give it to their dogs. :shudder: Me? No way. I can't stomach that option. Plus, I don't know enough about what to add to make the diet balanced. Luckily, there are many companies that now offer frozen, premixed raw foods. Usually, they come in frozen patty form consisting of raw meat, healthy vegetables, flaxseed and other good stuff. You defrost the patties in the fridge no more than a couple days before you're going to need them, then break off however much you need.

The few people I personally know who feed their dog this way say you'll never go back once you try it. They claim it helps with allergies, ear infections, dry coats and a whole slew of maladies. Am I completely convinced? Not yet. But that's why I'm curious about trying it. I suspect Lemon would love it. It's a meat patty, after all. But I just want to make sure that it's something she might actually benefit from. You can switch kibble a hundred times, but this isn't a diet to try on a whim.