Great Viewing

On Monday we got an opportunity to witness a great sight.  While walking along a city street, a young peregrine falcon flew down and grabbed a mouse or shrew about 25 yards ahead of us.  I am continually amazed at the great recovery progress they are making here in the city. How did  I know it was a young bird; no mature bird would get that close to 10 dogs!

There was a nice story on our local CBS affiliate that featured the dogs last week: http://wcco.com/pets/citizen.kanine.dog.2.800482.html.  We spent a couple of hours walking and talking with Frank Vascellaro on Tuesday for the Thursday spot.  One never knows how and interview will turn out but I was really happy the story.  Frank is as nice as he appears on TV.  He recently lost a dog similar to Caddy, the Australian Shepard, and they hit it off immediately.

Aussie Mania

What a great looking group of dogs. This is our afternoon walking group from Monday. I have always been impressed by the intelligence and athleticism of Australian Shepards. In the dog training world smart dogs can also be very prone to problems when they are not properly directed or put to task. Aussies are working dogs and they love to be put to work. The Labrador in the center of the photo is feeling a bit outnumbered.

The photo above was taken on River Road in Minneapolis. One of the dogs in the group is named Felon and we had a great opportunity for a apropo photo that we passed on. The park police (a separate police force from the Minneapolis police department) had set up a squad monitoring a local stop sign and pulled over a motorist right in front of us. It would have been a fabulous photo but I didn’t want to risk getting cited for an off leash violation.

The thinking dog

I love this sequence of photos. One of the topics that we discussed last weekend as an important component of training was allowing a dog to develop responsibility for their own actions. One of the simple but effective methods taught was called “the long down”. Effectively it is a very simple exercise where the dog is given a sit command and enough slack in their lead to settle into a spot while the owner is sitting on the leash and not interacting with the dog. The exercise should allow the dog 30 minutes in a calm state of mind before concluding.

We have a new group member, Boris. He is a great 9 month old yellow lab with tons of energy. During our walk today, after 3+ miles, he had a great opportunity to learn “the long down”. This is a modified version where the group is providing non verbal cues about expected behavior. In the first shot we can see how he is looking for any kind of distraction to take him off task. He then resigns himself to the down position. Then in the concluding photo he finally achieves the state of mind we are looking for. His facial expression and body language are fantastic as he achieves a calm state of mind.

Southwest Journal Article and Train the Trainer

The article in the Southwest Journal came out last week and it has really generated a lot of interest and activity. Jake Weyer wrote a really flattering piece and it was accompanied be a some great photos and a video on their website. One never knows what will come of an interview but this was very nice publicity. Here is the link.

Last week I participated in a Training course in Iowa with Margot Woods from Applewoods Dog Training in Laurel MD. She is an incredible dog trainer who has spent years developing techniques to both train dogs but most importantly their owners and handlers. This was a phenomenal experience and a great opportunity to work with one best dog trainers in the country. I walk away both humbled and grateful for the opportunity and experience. On the drive home I spent a great deal of time apologizing to Ruby and committing to improving my skills. Here is a quick photo of Margot and me and her phenomenal red Doberman Sanity.

The drive back from Iowa was uneventful but there were warnings about a big winter storm setting in. The storm hit and it was a tough day on the walk. We had a great group of dogs and welcomed a new dog, Boris the yellow lab. He is a fine young lab and it took him nearly half a block to settle in. We got in a sloppy walk around lake Harriet with my coat weighing nearly 20 pounds soaking wet when we returned. So much for spring (at least the paths were empty).

Star Tribune Photo!

The photo that was printed in the Strib last week was never posted on their on-line site. I purchased one-time editorial use permission to share it here. Once again Elizabeth Flores took a really nice photo:

Star Tribune/Minneapolis-St. Paul 2008

The front page of the Star Tribune twin cities and west section

Monday was an idyllic early spring day.  It was bright and clear with a light breeze. The March sun, as it rises in its arc,  has picked up power and while the air temperature is cold, it provides a penetrating warmth.

There were 10 dogs in the morning group and we had a good brisk 4 mile walk.  As we were cooling down at Java Jacks, basking in the March sun, a small SUV pulled up.  The driver popped out and started snapping photos.  While that is not entirely unusual, she had two big digital frame cameras.  It turns out that it was Elizabeth Flores a photographer with the Star Tribune.  We had a brief conversation and she was off.

On Tuesday the photo ran on the front of the twin cities and west section.  It was a really nice photo with a bit of a diluted caption.  It is not on the star tribune website yet but it may come out today.  If the link is available I will post it when it comes up.

A busy day

We got some great fresh new snow on Tuesday night making our winter scenery fresh and bright. I met a reporter, Jake Weyer, from the Southwest Journal last week at the coffee shop. He was there to meet with another person but asked if he could follow-up and talk about the dogs and do a walk with a group. We met yesterday and I guess I may have been expecting a much more low key event. He showed up with still and video photographers, needless to say there was a ton of distracting activity going on as we began our walk.

Dogs don’t do well with face to face greetings. Unlike humans and other primates, they prefer to smell first then sidle up next to another dog or person. When one of the photographers started walking slightly in front of us and dropping the camera to face level I watched the dogs closely to insure that there were no adverse reactions. They all acted like old pros and for the most part were able to ignore the cameras.

There were some questionable photographic opportunities. The beginning of the walk is generally when the dogs will relieve themselves and there did not disappoint. I really hope they don’t run a photo essay; Dogs Pooping, but they sure have the footage to do just that.

A warming trend

Sometimes its the small things that put a smile on your face. While our weather has improved dramatically, it has also begun to melt the icy exterior of some of the regulars that we bump into on walks. I make it a habit of greeting most everyone that we see (I will grant the Ipod fixated their solitude). Most folks will return the greeting with a smile an a wave or comment. Some don’t and they become my projects. I am not sure why but it becomes my objective to have them respond in some way shape or form. I had a breakthrough with one of the regulars that I have been working on for the entirety of the winter. Yesterday I got my first “hi” from a guy that has seemed lost in a not very friendly place for a long time. A small victory and a reason for a smile for the rest of the day.

Another day in the icebox

This really is the cruelest time of the year.  The sun is getting higher but the temperatures continue to drop.  Darn you laws of thermal dynamics! Here is the crew from Wednesday at our coffee stop.  Notice the melting snow on the step (it is zero degrees) .  The is the warm southern exposure at the coffee shop with no wind and bright sun.  It almost looks tropical (well not really, but we have to think that way here in the winter).

The Minnesota hunch 

Garrison Keillor talks about the Minnesota hunch on his radio show.  He is referring to a trait that we have of pulling our shoulders as close as possible to our ears and tucking chins to our chest as we walk in the winter.   Everyone out and about today was showing their best version of the hunch.

Winter marches on

The temperatures have entered the sub zero range once again.  This is a particularly cruel stretch of cold.  The weekend held such promise with melting snow and readings above freezing on both Saturday and Sunday.  The freezer door has slammed shut once again.  Here is the crew on the path by lake Harriet on Monday afternoon.  We did not make a full lap of the lake we just swung by to see if it was possible and quickly realized that it would be ill advised.  If you can read dog body language they are saying: hurry up!

I got a question at the coffee shop other day that made gave me pause (a rarity).  I was inside getting a nice hot cup and there were 10 dogs sitting outside of the coffee shop when this person asked “do they bite?”.  On any given day, there may be 5 -10 people who stop and ask if they can pet the dogs or ask other questions but this one caught me off guard.  I hesitated and responded “yes, they do”, and left it at that.  Any dog will bite if they feel they have no other option but it is rarely their first response when interacting with a person.  I don’t know that that was the response the person was expecting.