“Fair” Is a One-Way Street

September 25, 2023September 25, 2023 Pam Hogle Stories, The Thinking Dog Blog dog play, Dog sense of fairness

Orly and Dotty are both grappling with the inescapable truth that life is not fair.

Now that Dotty has her service-dog-in-training cape, I sometimes take her with me when I run errands or go out to eat. Orly stays home.

Not fair! Orly sulks and refuses to greet us when we return.

This morning it was even worse: Dotty got to go to the river and have her photo taken, a process which involves many treats. Orly again stayed home. Dotty came back happy and mud-covered, reeking of the good treats. NOT FAIR.

Orly got her own special walk afterward, while Dotty stayed home (in her crate with a chew toy). Orly seemed mollified after that and is again sweetly cuddling with her “little” sister (they are now the same size … a phenomenon that won’t last a full week before the little sister overtakes the big sister).

Oddly enough, though, Orly’s sense of fairness is unperturbed when Orly gets to go off hiking — and Dotty is the one left behind. Each time, Dotty rushes to greet the Missoula Dog Mom, hoping that today will be the day — she is sure it’s coming — that she gets to go. She wouldn’t even mind if Orly also went. She just wants to go!

Nope, not today. Orly swishes her tail grandly as she exits, leaving sad Dotty home with boring old Mom and her many meetings.

Dotty’s loud demands, more frequent while Orly is out — requests for food, attention, outside time, inside time, cuddles — may be a cry for justice. Her sense of fairness, like Orly’s, seems to mostly consist of a keen awareness of the times she’s on the receiving end of injustice.

And to give both girls their due, they treat each other fairly. They take turns “winning” tug games and wrestling matches and being the chaser vs. the chasee in the yard. They share toys, amicably chew beef bones next to one another, and let each other eat in peace. As I well know, that is not always the case, even with the most loving doggy siblings.

Perhaps calm acceptance of unequal treatment is a question of maturity, temperament, and time; it’s certainly the case that not all humans get there as children or teens ( … or ever).

All Claws & Teeth

September 18, 2023September 10, 2023 Pam Hogle The Thinking Dog Blog

Dotty is going through a Phase. It might be adolescence. If it is, I hope it ends as quickly as it started.

She’s all claws and paws and teeth.

Everything goes into the mouth. Sticks, leaves, trash she finds on our walks … people’s hands if they reach out to pet her … toys, non-toys, food, non-food. Everything.

And she’s started pawing at people to ask for petting. Constantly.

And jump! Dotty had been doing SO well with her sit-to-be-petted greeting. She was such a sweet girl. But now? It’s like a different dog.

Orly went through a truly obnoxious phase on her way to being a Very Good Girl who rarely jumps (unless she’s trying to get onto the bed and your nose happens to be in the way …). I’m hoping that Dotty shows the same growth and maturity… soon.

During her “tween” and adolescent period Orly was hyper-aware of every moving leaf, blade of grass, bird or squirrel, and of course, human encountered on walks. Dotty is as well, but where Orly pounced and passed things by, Dotty stops and tries to pick up whatever catches her attention.

Both want to meet any and all humans and positively swoon over small children.

There are signs of growth already, though. Dotty willingly gets both into and out of the car, for example, and, just a couple days ago, I saw her go down the stairs without a single “bunny hop” of her two back legs together.

She’s tall and leggy, almost as tall as Orly, but her body still needs to lengthen and fill out before she stops looking puppyish. That moment will come soon. Maybe too soon!

No More Boxing Lessons …

September 11, 2023September 10, 2023 Pam Hogle Main Blog, Stories, The Thinking Dog Blog

Orly has a mean center punch.

And a very hard head.

Let’s back up…

I was dog-sitting for two wonderful pups, one of whom insisted that he absolutely had to go out at 3 am. We all went out. Dogs did what dogs do, and we stood there for a few minutes marveling at the stars. I did, at least. My friends live well outside of Missoula and can actually see stars. It was a beautiful clear night, if a bit cold.

I was settling back into bed when Orly asked to come up for a cuddle. I leaned over to pet her and said she could come up. Usually, she needs to be told a few times and I need to move over and show her her spot, convincing her that I really want to cuddle with her.

Not this time.

I don’t think the word “yes” was out of my mouth before she leapt. Full speed ahead, just inches from my nose.

There was quite a bit of blood.

While I was dealing with that, Orly settled in on the bed — nice of me to warm it for her — and went to sleep. My friends’ dogs settled on their beds and returned to sleep as well. Only sweet Dotty came to check on me and keep me company while I iced my nose.

Orly doesn’t actually take boxing lessons. Turns out she does not need them, either. And I’m pondering the benefits of a dogless bed …

Orly’s ‘Little’ Sister

August 28, 2023August 13, 2023 Pam Hogle Main Blog, The Thinking Dog Blog puppies, puppies and older dogs

Dotty, left, at 11 weeks and at 21 weeks, sits next to Orly.

Dotty, at about 5 months old, is almost as big as Orly!

I’m taking a vacation! There won’t be a new Thinking Dog post next week. Happy Labor day!

I wanted to leave you with some photos showing how Orly’s little sister has grown … and grown, and grown. I am sure that she’ll be bigger than Orly before she is 6 months old!

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Change the Picture

August 21, 2023August 17, 2023 Pam Hogle Stories, The Thinking Dog Blog dog and cars, puppy training, service dog puppy

I wrote about Dotty’s trials and tribulations as she learned to go down stairs, and then as she learned to get into and out of the car.

I was working on getting her out of the car, practicing with the little stairs, safely inside our garage, and making no progress. Orly was happily demonstrating what to do and how to eat the cookies she got as a reward. Dotty was pacing on the seat, unwilling to get down into the foot space or to jump down to the little stairs from the seat.

I sat next to her, looking at the foot space. Even with the front seat moved all the way forward, the space is small. And dark. I wasn’t all that surprised that Dotty didn’t want to jump down there.

I thought about what Glenn, our trainer, says when a puppy is resisting something: Change the picture.

I reached behind the back seat and grabbed a light green towel from the handy dog stuff box that lives in the car. I placed it invitingly on the floor in the foot space, and got out of the car.

I sweetened the deal with a bribe: A small, but delicious (to Dotty) treat on the floor. Orly showed immediate interest. I banished her to the back yard.

I replaced the pilfered treat and added one on the steps for good measure.

Dotty very cautiously reached a paw down, leaned wayyyy over, and managed to get the treat. Encouraged, the brought another paw down then her back end. Yay Dotty!

She stuck her nose out the door, decided, ‘nope,’ and hopped back onto the seat.

The second time, she jumped down pretty quickly, though, and then put her nose out … followed by a tentative paw. And another paw. Then, all at once, she was out of the car! And devouring a jackpot of treats.

The next day, she tried again — at a park this time. She got out, back in, and even got out again at home. She’s done it several times since, and is less reliant on the edible encouragement each time — but she still gets a treat at the end. She’s definitely getting more confident. All thanks to the magic of a light-green towel … and a willingness to change the picture.

Step by Step

August 14, 2023August 5, 2023 Pam Hogle Main Blog, Stories dogs and cars, dogs and steps, puppy training, service dog training, training puppies

White golden pup Dotty lies on a colorful towel in the car — I refuse to get out of this car!

Dotty does not like getting into the car. She hates (and strongly resists) getting out of the car.

This is a problem when, say, we need to go to the vet or to training class, as it would be with any pup. But as a service-dog-in-training, Dotty simply goes more places than most dogs — and she needs to get used to getting in and out of all kinds of vehicles.

When I trained young service dog puppies, long ago, we took them on field trips in a minivan. We had a folding ramp that they walked up and down to get in and out of the van, where they rode in sturdy crates.

I have a Forester, and the dogs ride in the back seat. Getting in and out requires either a big jump onto the seat 0r, preferably, two smaller jumps — one into the passenger foot space, and then from there onto the seat.

Orly learned quickly (from Cali) how to do all of this, and we never had an issue getting her in or out of the car.

Dotty has learned a lot from Orly … but not this. Despite watching Orly get in and out of the car dozens (maybe hundreds) of times. Treats aren’t helping either.

So I bought her some steps. The ramps I saw for sale were too long to be usable either in my narrow driveway or when parking in a parking lot with only a foot or two between cars. They are also often too wide to use at a passenger side door. But these little steps fit.

They’re plastic and sturdy enough to support a much larger dog than Dotty is (at the moment), but they can move if the dog jumps too enthusiastically. I hold them in place with a foot. Orly doesn’t mind the movement. Dotty… does.

(You may remember, though, that Dotty was not eager to use regular steps … the solid kind that are inside the house … especially the ones going down.)

Orly figured it out immediately and eagerly showed Dotty how to bound up and down, in and out. Dotty wanted nothing to do with these steps, not even with our top-rated treats.

We moved to the basement and practiced going up and down the steps to get on and off the TV sofa, the only furniture Dotty is allowed on. She caught on pretty fast, with the help of some yummy treats.

We moved to the deck. Orly again demoed quite enthusiastically.

Dotty grudgingly tried (treats definitely helped here)… survived … tried a few more times. Seemed comfortable enough.

Back to the car. She went in. Progress!

But that was it. Dotty did her usual lie down refusal to even consider getting out.

Orly bounded in and out a few more times, showing off her ability and confidence — and making a big deal out of gobbling her treat rewards.

Unmoved, Dotty turned her back on us and lay down even harder, if that’s even possible.

We went to training class, where Glenn, our trainer, helped all the dogs go in and out of his minivan using stairs very similar to ours. And a ramp. Dotty did both. She even seemed to like the ramp.

Back to the Forester. She got in, no problem. I coaxed her off the back seat and she — miracle — climbed down the steps and out of the car!

Once.

Climbed back in and did the hard lie-down. Dared me to try to get her out.

We drove home and … that was it. She was done. Not gonna get out.

I did my usual — picked her up and lifted her out. All almost-40-pounds of her. I cannot keep doing this.

We’ll see who wins this battle. My money is on Dotty, which will present quite a conundrum if she gets any bigger.

Preserving Generational Wisdom

August 7, 2023August 5, 2023 Pam Hogle Main Blog, Stories, The Thinking Dog Blog dogs and culture, dogs picking berries

Even at the tender age of not-quite-2, Orly is taking her role as the steward of family culture seriously.

Last week, while we were dog-sitting for Orly and Dotty’s new best friends (Stella and Cruiser), Orly thought to leverage an opportunity to hand down Hogle Golden Retriever Culture and Wisdom: She taught Dotty how to pick raspberries.

Berry picking is a revered part of the culture of all Hogle goldens. Jana created this family talent as a young puppy in Israel. She started with strawberries, very quickly learning that the red, sweet-smelling ones tasted better than the green, hard ones. Thus began a daily competition for the finest berries. I usually lost.

Strawberry season in the Israeli garden fed into blackberry season. Jana perfected the art of plucking the ripest, sweetest berries — while avoiding the thorns. We made a deal: Anything above her nose height belonged to me. Anything lower belonged to her.

That deal survived a move to the US, and endured through blueberry picking in Massachusetts. Jana conveyed the cultural knowledge to Cali in California, ensuring it would continue through the next generation — now with raspberries.

Cali perfected raspberry picking over several summers in Montana, teaching the art to young Orly. In one glorious summer, just a year ago, Cali and Orly gorged on raspberries and blackberries. They got a little carried away, though, and might have … destroyed the raspberry bushes in the process.

Never mind. Following some landscaping work, new berry bushes will be ready to fill dog tummies by summer 2024.

Imagine Orly’s delight, then, to discover raspberry bushes at Stella and Cruiser’s house!

Not being goldens, Stella and Cruiser had no idea of their good fortune.

Orly took Dotty firmly in paw, led her to the patch, and … Dotty was a star student, picking up on the technique right away, thus ensuring that the cultural tradition would extend to a fourth generation.

Dotty even remembered and was able to apply her new skill in a different environment: Several days after we got home, Dotty remembered that there were raspberry bushes next to the river trail, and immediately headed to them, nosed around, picked and devoured the few remaining berries.

While it used to be controversial to say that non-humans shared culture in their social groups, Jane Goodall identified dozens of shared and taught behaviors among chimpanzees that, she pointed out, constituted culture. Now, many researchers agree that agree that culture “involves a collective adoption and transmission of one or more behaviors among a group” or a pattern of “knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations” — and that multiple animal species demonstrate cultural knowledge and sharing.

Mall Pup

July 31, 2023July 31, 2023 Pam Hogle Main Blog, The Thinking Dog Blog puppy raising a service dog, service dog, service dog in training, working dog

White pup Dotty holds a plastic tube. She's wearing a blue service dog cape. — Dotty got used to wearing her new cape by practicing a few retrieves while wearing it at home.

On a recent Saturday afternoon, Dotty met up with her sisters at the mall. A friend joined them as they hung out in the mall, greeting people who were shopping or also hanging out. The pack then visited Scheel’s for some light shopping and, it must be said, sightseeing.

(The Missoula Scheel’s has both a country fair-style shooting gallery and a 2-lane bowling alley, ensuring mobs of kids on a Saturday afternoon. And dogs. So many dogs.)

That Dotty and her sisters are 4-month-old golden retrievers and their friend Geo is a doodle is what makes this outing unusual. The girls are in training to become mobility-assistance service dogs, and learning to be calm, confident, and competent in public settings is an important part of their preparation.

This outing was a doozy. So many people, dogs, noises, smells, and experiences. We did spend much of the time in a quiet(er) meeting room, but navigating the store, which allows pet dogs, with its interesting features, was a challenging first public visit.

Dotty did amazingly well, calming down to watch people walking by in the mall, appropriately greeting people (sitting quietly) when given permission, walking confidently next to me through the gauntlet of people, dogs, and noises.

She did start to show some nervousness as we walked out. At this point, it was just the two of us, each sister-and-human pair having headed out separately. Near the bowling alley, a couple of girls asked if they could pet her, and I paused. So far, so good. But then a bunch of their friends came over at the same time that someone started bowling… and it was too much.

Dotty’s tail went down. I immediately apologized to the kids and headed out. Dotty recovered quickly and bounded happily to the car.

We’ve since had one additional outing: We visited the best pet store in Missoula. Dotty got to try out her new superdog cape, get treats, and explore a very exciting (from a puppy’s perspective) new place.

The ADA, a federal law, allows people with service and guide dogs to take their dogs into public spaces that usually bar dogs. The ADA does not include access for people training service dogs, however. Montana is among the states that allows service dog trainers the same public access with dogs in training that a person who works with a service or guide dog has, with the stipulation that the dog in training wear an identifying cape or vest. So Dotty’s “superdog cape” grants her the super power of going where other dogs cannot. Much to Orly’s dismay.

We All Scream for Ice Cream!

July 24, 2023July 16, 2023 Pam Hogle The Thinking Dog Blog dogs and ice cream

Visits to the Big Dipper, our neighborhood ice cream stand (and a Missoula icon) are an important summertime ritual. A less frequent, but no less important, spring, fall, and winter ritual as well …

Naturally, Orly and I looked forward to Dotty’s first ice cream! The momentous occasion finally arrived on a hot evening when I had a handy pair of helping hands. My friend Ken, a digital nomad who makes frequent stops in Missoula, was my capable dog-wrangling assistant and documentarian. (All of the photos are stills from the video he shot.)

Orly is a gobbler. Her ice cream disappears in nanoseconds. (Cali was also a gobbler, except on her birthday, when she got an entire kid-size scoop and took the time to enjoy it…)

Dotty seems to be a licker.

Once Orly realized that Dotty had ice cream while she did not … Orly quickly adapted. And became a co-licker. Luckily, Dotty was amenable to sharing.

Update …

Before digital nomad Ken hit the road again, we had a second ice cream outing.

Orly was onto Dotty’s “licker” approach and, under the guise of licking alongside her, tried to gobble Dotty’s ice cream. No, Orly, No!

Mom had to intervene and rescue Dotty’s ice cream. At that point, taking no chances, Dotty instantly converted to a gobbler and swallowed her ice cream. Well, most of it …

She did leave behind enough for the cutest ice-cream mustache!

Summer Fun!

July 17, 2023July 8, 2023 Pam Hogle Stories, The Thinking Dog Blog Dogs and water play, puppy play, splash pad dogs

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After a cold, wet spring, summer has arrived with a furnace blast of 90-plus days.

Dotty and Orly know just how to keep cool!

They have a pool! And a splash pad! (Thanks, Aunties Maren and Christina!)

As a pup who loves to paddle in her water bowl, Dotty took to her water toys like, well, a golden retriever to water.

Her favorite activity is rolling around to get thoroughly soaked, then finding a nice patch of backyard to dig up. Mmmmm, that dirt-and-wet-dog combination. Mom loves that … not at all.

They’re very eager to swim in the river, but we haven’t tried that yet. Maybe next week!

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