So yesterday my mom decided that I needed a bath. I've been a bit flaky and she keeps telling me I stink (which I don't think is very nice of her). So after our Scent Discrimination Class we went to Bark Williams. This is a place where you go and it looks like a groomer's but then your mom stays with you - my mom calls it a self-service dog wash. It was busy yesterday because it was Sunday. Usually my mom goes when they first open so we don't have to wait but today we had to wait. I kept trying to convince her to leave but she was not having it.
When it was my turn the man cleaned out the tub for me and lowered the ramp. After the promise of some hot dogs I begrudgingly went up the ramp and let my mom hook me up. My mom likes to hook me up so I don't try and jump out because she has to use both hands to wash me. They have nice tubs at Bark Williams that have some sort of double floor system so you're not sitting in all your own hair and dirty water - yuck. they also have a nice nozzle that has warm water (something we don't have when my mom washes me in front of the house).
They have different types of shampoo to pick from right there - no need to bring your own. My favorite is oatmeal but they also have "tear free" and "flea and tick." After the shampoo my mom uses the "rinse" to condition my fur. Now I have to say that I am not the most cooperative dog when it comes to bath time and I try and get back at my mom by giving her a bath. Lucky for her they have aprons for the moms and dads so that they don't get too wet.
After you are rinsed off they have some shammies to dry you off. Now here is the one negative part of Bark Williams. I was there a few years ago and enjoyed those shammies because the more dry I can get with those the less time I have to be dried with the "monster." But today the shammies had lot of holes in them. I think they need some new shammies. After my mom pre-dried me she turned the orange "monster" on.
Now I know it's not really a monster but I hate it. It makes noise and air comes shooting out of it and I'm strapped to the tub so I can't get away. My mom is pretty nice about being gentle and drying my face from farther away so it isn't too scary. She also let me take breaks and used some treats to keep me calm.
Then it was (finally) time to go. Now my mom says we have too many treats and toys at home but if you are in the market for some of that stuff they have lots at Bark Williams. They had some treats that I have used before and some fancy stuffed toys.
The people are friendly and helpful (the first time we went we had lots of questions but now we know what to do) and the place is very nice and CLEAN. And when you pay for your bath they give you a "cookie" - who can beat that. All in all if you're going to get a bath I would recommend it - it's nicer than getting a bath outside because there is warm watter, your parents don't have to hunch over as the baths are up high, and your parents don't have to clean up the mess. It costs about fifteen dollars for a bath but my mom thinks it is well worth the money.
P.S. When my mom decides I need a professional bath and haircut she takes me to Paws 'n' Claws in Pacific Palisades. They are the only people that have ever been able to cut my nails. They also deal with glands that need to be excreted and given nice haircuts. I've been going since I was a puppy and if you have to get a bath it's a nice place to go.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Scent Discrimination Class Week 5
So today it was up off and early to yet another scent discrimination class at the Zoom Room in Culver City. One of my classmates was absent but we went ahead with class nonetheless.
Today we did some review first and I sniffed all the boxes and then sat at them without being told. Everyone oohed and ahhed for me. That made me pretty proud of myself.
Then the trainer put out boxes with scents and treats and hid them from us. He hid them behind agility equipment behind bigger boxes. He couldn't fool us though - we found those boxes. Next he hid them and then pout out a decoy box that had no scent in it. Well that was a little harder. The first time I sniffed the decoy and pawed it and my mom said "no" so kept going. The next time around I was not fooled though.
Next week is our last class so hopefully I will pass (I'm not sure you can fail but my mom won't be happy if I do). Either way I have LOVED this class. I'm finally getting to do something that I was bred to do. While I enjoy walks and sleeping and sleeping, sometimes a hound dog just has to sniff. Hopefully my mom will keep practicing with me. (I think she will because it makes me tired and calmer which she LOVES.)
My mom had to ruin the day though by taking me to get a bath (more on that later).
Also since next week is our last week my friend Carrie is going to come watch and hopefully she will take some pictures of me sniffing those boxes that I can share.
Today we did some review first and I sniffed all the boxes and then sat at them without being told. Everyone oohed and ahhed for me. That made me pretty proud of myself.
Then the trainer put out boxes with scents and treats and hid them from us. He hid them behind agility equipment behind bigger boxes. He couldn't fool us though - we found those boxes. Next he hid them and then pout out a decoy box that had no scent in it. Well that was a little harder. The first time I sniffed the decoy and pawed it and my mom said "no" so kept going. The next time around I was not fooled though.
Next week is our last class so hopefully I will pass (I'm not sure you can fail but my mom won't be happy if I do). Either way I have LOVED this class. I'm finally getting to do something that I was bred to do. While I enjoy walks and sleeping and sleeping, sometimes a hound dog just has to sniff. Hopefully my mom will keep practicing with me. (I think she will because it makes me tired and calmer which she LOVES.)
My mom had to ruin the day though by taking me to get a bath (more on that later).
Also since next week is our last week my friend Carrie is going to come watch and hopefully she will take some pictures of me sniffing those boxes that I can share.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Scent Practice
So yesterday my mom got home early to let the plumber in and since it was still daylight when he left she took me outside to practice sniffing - I mean "scent discrimination." I'm taking a class at the Zoom Room and my mom decided that we needed to practice at home as well. (Now I don't think I need to practice because I'm the only hound dog in class but I still LOVE to practice.) So my mom cut up some hot dogs and we went out where the Chopper-Mobile is parked (that's what I call my mom's CR-V) to practice.
She would put my leash on a pole and then put stuff in the boxes we got at the Zoom Room and then come and get me to "find it." Now we had some problems. First, the boxes came unfolded and my mom had to put them together. Well she kind of screwed up figuring out the first one and it wouldn't stay closed. She used it as the "decoy" box but it was not very effective when it kept popping open. So then we didn't have a decoy box until she kind of just smashed it together. Second, my mom did not set up my crate (even though it was in the Chopper-Mobile) and instead just put my leash over a pole, which meant as soon as she put those boxes down I thought it was time to do my stuff. That is until the pole pulled back (I never liked those poles, sometimes she puts my leash on one to brush me and I have not figured out a way to get away from her when she does that). Other than that it was fun fun fun.
My mom tried to fool me by putting the boxes near garbage cans and around corners but I found them every time and gave her the proper alert, which is sitting next to the box (and only had to be reminded to sit a few times). And I NEVER sat at the decoy box. Also I sniffed a lot more than I do at class - I think my mom didn't put as much of the smelly stuff in the box so it was a little harder and I had to use my nose more - I'm not really sure.
After that I was too tired to eat dinner right away and had to go take a nap inside - all that sniffing can sure wear a dog out.
She would put my leash on a pole and then put stuff in the boxes we got at the Zoom Room and then come and get me to "find it." Now we had some problems. First, the boxes came unfolded and my mom had to put them together. Well she kind of screwed up figuring out the first one and it wouldn't stay closed. She used it as the "decoy" box but it was not very effective when it kept popping open. So then we didn't have a decoy box until she kind of just smashed it together. Second, my mom did not set up my crate (even though it was in the Chopper-Mobile) and instead just put my leash over a pole, which meant as soon as she put those boxes down I thought it was time to do my stuff. That is until the pole pulled back (I never liked those poles, sometimes she puts my leash on one to brush me and I have not figured out a way to get away from her when she does that). Other than that it was fun fun fun.
My mom tried to fool me by putting the boxes near garbage cans and around corners but I found them every time and gave her the proper alert, which is sitting next to the box (and only had to be reminded to sit a few times). And I NEVER sat at the decoy box. Also I sniffed a lot more than I do at class - I think my mom didn't put as much of the smelly stuff in the box so it was a little harder and I had to use my nose more - I'm not really sure.
After that I was too tired to eat dinner right away and had to go take a nap inside - all that sniffing can sure wear a dog out.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Sleepover
So Mumble and I have had a lot of sleepovers in the last few weeks. First he stayed with me when my mom had to go out of town for work and now he is staying with us because his mommy had to go out of town. We brought my big bed from the living room in for him to try but that lasted about five minutes before he decided to sleep on my mom's bed with her. I guess he misses his mom because normally we don't do that here.
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| Mumble didn't last long on the dog bed - I guess that means we have room for another friend. |
Monday, February 7, 2011
Scent Discriminattion Class: Week 4
Well my mom has been busy busy busy. My friend Mumble and his mom stayed at my house a bunch of nights in the last few weeks because my mom was away for work. But we have not missed any of our Scent Classes at the Zoom Room. Weeks 2 & 3 we worked on the same things as Week 1 (and my mom had to sniff some stuff too) but this last week was really challenging.
First we had to sniff the boxes with the treats again and Birch and Anise and then just one scent. We have been learning to alert when we smell the scent. I like to paw at the box or step on in but the trainer says I have to sit - then when I sit he says I don't sniff it enough. I'm a hound dog I don't need to take big whiff like all those girl dogs.
This week he tried to fool us. First he put out two boxes with a scent/treat and then one with nothing. I didn't sit at the box with nothing - so there! Then he put a box with treats but no scent. Again I passed it without sitting (and it had turkey hot dogs in it - my favorite). My mom bought some stuff for us to practice at home with so we'll see how that goes. There is one little dog that is really good - she sniffs for a long time and then sits at the right box - I think the trainer wants me to sniff more but my big hound dog nose can smell it - I swear.
We are having tons of fun and I can't wait to take another class (I've already done Agility classes, Agility League and a Tricks Class). My mom thinks an Advance Obedience class or a Therapy Dog class would be good for me since I need to learn to calm down sometimes.
First we had to sniff the boxes with the treats again and Birch and Anise and then just one scent. We have been learning to alert when we smell the scent. I like to paw at the box or step on in but the trainer says I have to sit - then when I sit he says I don't sniff it enough. I'm a hound dog I don't need to take big whiff like all those girl dogs.
This week he tried to fool us. First he put out two boxes with a scent/treat and then one with nothing. I didn't sit at the box with nothing - so there! Then he put a box with treats but no scent. Again I passed it without sitting (and it had turkey hot dogs in it - my favorite). My mom bought some stuff for us to practice at home with so we'll see how that goes. There is one little dog that is really good - she sniffs for a long time and then sits at the right box - I think the trainer wants me to sniff more but my big hound dog nose can smell it - I swear.
We are having tons of fun and I can't wait to take another class (I've already done Agility classes, Agility League and a Tricks Class). My mom thinks an Advance Obedience class or a Therapy Dog class would be good for me since I need to learn to calm down sometimes.
Friday, January 21, 2011
TGIF
My mom has been busy busy busy lately and she has to travel for work a few times in the next week so I will get to have a slumber party with my buddy Mumble and his mom (but at my house because Mumble's brother is a cat and I like to chase cats). I'm very excited but still sad that I won't get to see my mom.
On the upside she's been so busy I have been able to sneak up on the couch a few times without her noticing - I've gotten pretty clever about the whole thing.
I'm super excited for Week Two of Scent Discrimination Class on Sunday and hope that my mom buys me the kit to practice at home (I'm sure she will). Other than that I plan on spending the weekend lying around doing nothing.
On the upside she's been so busy I have been able to sneak up on the couch a few times without her noticing - I've gotten pretty clever about the whole thing.
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| You can barely tell I'm there! |
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Scent Discrimination Class: Week 1
Well Chopper is still recovering from all of the brain work he had to do this weekend so I will be reporting on our first week in Scent Discrimination at the Zoom Room in Culver City.
First, the class is made up of all female dogs and Chopper. Two of them are very small and two are more medium sized. Chopper is also the only hound dog and probably the biggest by a good twenty-five pounds or so. There is a 14-year old miniature pinscher, a tiny white dog (who might be our biggest competition as it turns out), and two medium-sized dogs that each bore a striking resemblance to other types of dogs but were the wrong size (and they also happened to have the same name).
I didn't tell Chopper ahead of time that during this class the dogs would be in crates when it wasn't their turn so I wasn't sure how he would fare. Chopper never had a problem being in his crate by his choice or mine if I was home (he was not to be crate-trained however and the one attempt early on resulted in him coming to work with me for a week) and we still use it occasionally but about a year ago I decided that two dog beds and the crate were taking over my house and we put the crate away. But truth be told if there is someone in the house he doesn't know and he's in his crate there is a lot of barking and carrying on. (I spent four hours one Saturday with him in there and three cable guys roaming around the house and it was one of the longest days of my life.) We happened to have his couch blanket in the car so I put that over the crate to help block his view but made the mistake of doing it before he got in the crate - why a mistake you ask - well Chopper has been trained that that blanket means he can get on the couch - so as soon as it was on the crate he jumped right up on top. He was very confused that the crate had not turned into the couch and established himself as the class clown.
So the dogs spent the better part of the class time getting used to the box that the scents would eventually be placed in. I'm not sure how they are going to learn to discriminate these scents but for now they just had to get used to the box. So Chopper's "silver" treat of choice - turkey hot dogs - were loaded up in the box and he was told to "find it" and he did. Now Chopper has been playing "find it" for some time. He is fully capable of waiting in one room while you go in the next and hide a piece of dried chicken until I yell "find it" and he will come barrelling in to, well, find it. I sometimes put the chicken in shoes so I suspect that he can actually discriminate scents. So he thought this was good fun and by the end was ever so softly whining in his crate when it wasn't his turn. Most of the dogs thought it was great except for one very shy dog who was a little freaked out by the box.
Next two of the three scents they will eventually discriminate between were placed on a paper towel and put in the box along with the treats and the dogs had to get the treats again. Now you would think - they are just going to do it again - but not quite. These oils smelled strong to us and if you're a dog and not a person they are that much stronger (and if you're a coonhound and not a regular dog - well you can just imagine). So while the dogs did get the treats they were a little more careful and slow about it, which I did not expect. We didn't purchase the at-home practice kit but I'm sure that will be coming home next week.
All in all it was a fun way to spend a Sunday morning with the Chops - now if I could only remember the people's names in addition to the dog's names.
First, the class is made up of all female dogs and Chopper. Two of them are very small and two are more medium sized. Chopper is also the only hound dog and probably the biggest by a good twenty-five pounds or so. There is a 14-year old miniature pinscher, a tiny white dog (who might be our biggest competition as it turns out), and two medium-sized dogs that each bore a striking resemblance to other types of dogs but were the wrong size (and they also happened to have the same name).
I didn't tell Chopper ahead of time that during this class the dogs would be in crates when it wasn't their turn so I wasn't sure how he would fare. Chopper never had a problem being in his crate by his choice or mine if I was home (he was not to be crate-trained however and the one attempt early on resulted in him coming to work with me for a week) and we still use it occasionally but about a year ago I decided that two dog beds and the crate were taking over my house and we put the crate away. But truth be told if there is someone in the house he doesn't know and he's in his crate there is a lot of barking and carrying on. (I spent four hours one Saturday with him in there and three cable guys roaming around the house and it was one of the longest days of my life.) We happened to have his couch blanket in the car so I put that over the crate to help block his view but made the mistake of doing it before he got in the crate - why a mistake you ask - well Chopper has been trained that that blanket means he can get on the couch - so as soon as it was on the crate he jumped right up on top. He was very confused that the crate had not turned into the couch and established himself as the class clown.
So the dogs spent the better part of the class time getting used to the box that the scents would eventually be placed in. I'm not sure how they are going to learn to discriminate these scents but for now they just had to get used to the box. So Chopper's "silver" treat of choice - turkey hot dogs - were loaded up in the box and he was told to "find it" and he did. Now Chopper has been playing "find it" for some time. He is fully capable of waiting in one room while you go in the next and hide a piece of dried chicken until I yell "find it" and he will come barrelling in to, well, find it. I sometimes put the chicken in shoes so I suspect that he can actually discriminate scents. So he thought this was good fun and by the end was ever so softly whining in his crate when it wasn't his turn. Most of the dogs thought it was great except for one very shy dog who was a little freaked out by the box.
Next two of the three scents they will eventually discriminate between were placed on a paper towel and put in the box along with the treats and the dogs had to get the treats again. Now you would think - they are just going to do it again - but not quite. These oils smelled strong to us and if you're a dog and not a person they are that much stronger (and if you're a coonhound and not a regular dog - well you can just imagine). So while the dogs did get the treats they were a little more careful and slow about it, which I did not expect. We didn't purchase the at-home practice kit but I'm sure that will be coming home next week.
All in all it was a fun way to spend a Sunday morning with the Chops - now if I could only remember the people's names in addition to the dog's names.
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