meeka « Lessons From and For 4 Legs

Tricky Maizey: Load Up the Suitcase

By katie, on November 8th, 2010%

I am finally getting around to posting some Training Levels business after my recent jaunt into puppy socialization land.

For the Steps To Success, L2 Trick I thought I would post a trick maizey learned a while ago. We are huge copy cats, since we first saw Ricky and then Dare do this. But it is just too cute to resist.

This was trained with a combination of luring and shaping. It took two lures to get her in to suitcase. Then we shaped the details using the clicker.

The only thing I can’t get perfect is her tail and her ears. I suppose they are both so long that when the hair hangs out she probable doesn’t even know!

Since we shot this video she now gets released and hops out to get her reward, but I am just too lazy to refilm it all. Plus these were shot before we lost Meeka and it just makes me happy to be able to see my Big Girl looking so happy.

Everyone look out, she may just load up and show up on your doorstep!

Squeezy Cheese Cue?

By katie, on October 14th, 2010%

When Meeka had to take Tramadol twice a day she got her pill with squeezy cheese. It was her hands down favorite.

Maizey also thinks that squeezy cheese is the junk food of the gods, so we ended up working A LOT of “squeezy cheese Zen”. Eventually Maizey knew if she wanted her bit of squeezy cheese she had to sit nice and wait for Meeka to take her pill.

Tonight I got out the most treasured of treats once again to give Magnus his pill. As I was bribing him to take the dreaded medicine I glanced down and what was my little girl doing?

A perfect squeezy cheese zen. Apparently the can, the smell or whatever it was, was enough to remind her if she wants her bit of treasured yellow goo she needs to sit patiently. Needless to say she got an extra helping of the yellow goo of the gods!

Tonight I miss my Big Girl very much.

Goodbye Big Girl
2002-9/8/2010

By katie, on September 8th, 2010%

The best dog in the history of the world.

That Dog Needs A Pillow

By katie, on September 4th, 2010%

When we had Meeka about 2 weeks we had to take a trip to California, 12 hours in the car. We learned two things about our Big Goof on that trip: she barks LOUD at airplanes, even from the car, and she NEEDS a pillow.

Back then mehusbandy was still of more of the opinion, “dogs are dogs” and they don’t need things like pillows and soft pink blankets. But on that trip I started telling him, “She looks uncomfortable, I think she needs a pillow.”

I was right. Now we never travel, leave her in a crate, send her to the dog sitters or anything else without a pillow.

Proof of the pillow needing?

Proof is in the pillow, apparently two of mine!

(At this point I was much too glad she felt well enough to get on the bed by herself to be very concerned about the pillow hoarding. Not much change. . .)