Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Ode to Gris' Puppies - Part One

Before they were real things
they were only imaginings,
a slight perception of direction
toward possible conception.
 
From these indistinct notions
arose purposeful motions:
collection, insemination,
fertilization, implantation.
 
Then belly grown large,
nipples engorged,
the interminable wait for
the first sign of labor.
 
Time without measure,
that night lasted forever,
with the clutches of fear,
and each heartbeat held dear.
 
Can’t believe what I'm seeing  
as each tumbles into being,
no pomp or fanfare,
just tiny first gasps of air.
 
Now cuddly and dry, each one color-coded,
lined up on the teats with singular motive:
Either sucking up life or making a fuss,
eight little precious milk-sucking maggots.


Dewclaws removed, Yellow cries unless cuddled.
I doze, jerk awake - Pink's not in the huddle!
The warmth of the siblings and mom's cleansing tongue
define the world of sensation of the so very young.
 
A smell and a texture the nightly amusement,
with tickles and cold things and upside down movements.
A crack, peeking through the cloudy orb of an eye...
Hello little one! What's this that you spy?
 
Things that are bright, things that go boom,
things that are cuddly or roll across the room.
Things that vibrate, things that wobble,
mountains of noodles when you first start to toddle.
 
They sleep over here and go poop over there,
though sometimes they don't and just go anywhere.
Washing and sweeping and changing the blankies,
And tunnels and climbing and rocking and tuggies.


[To Be Continued...]









 

 

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Leapin' Gitchi Video!

It's been a long week and an even longer weekend. Yesterday was Saturday and great weather, but I was way too worried about Gitchi's brother Mojo at A&M to concentrate on training. So I took her to the Lakefront and let her jump in. And jump in, and jump in, and jump in.... ;-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4lWRDUxdvY

Suse 'n Gitchi

Monday, February 21, 2011

Gitchi has found her bliss!

We went over to the New Iberia agility trial this week-end just to 'schmooze' with Gitchi's sister Amy and brothers Mojo and Chase. And we all agreed that these are the the cutest, sweetest, smartest puppies ever in the history of the world - LOL!!

Driving home across the Causeway in the balmy 70's late Sunday afternoon sunshine, I spotaneously detoured to take Gitchi to the Lakefront since she hasn't had a chance to go swimming since her Big Splash-a-palooza at Rummy's almost 2 months ago. Not that I really expected her to jump off the seawall into the waves of Lake Pontchartrain like she had leaped (repeatedly!) into the gentle warm waters under the protective bubble of Rummy's with me and brother Mojo and Auntie Linda in the water for moral support. But I figured we could start to get used to it by dangling our tootsies in the water, and then later in the year when it gets really warm I could wade in with her if necessary.

But the Lake was really choppy with some prety big waves splooshing on the steps which made it impossible to wade or even get just a little wet because the steps at the water line were alternately high and dry, then knee deep in rapid succession. So I hooked Gitchi's toy to a long line and dangled it in the water just so she could watch it floating up and down on the waves. And then all of the sudden KER-SPLASH!! the little bitch had leapt headlong into the waves right on top of the toy. She pretty much went totally under trying to grab the toy, but she managed to get it and navigate her way back onto the steps OK. So I took the toy and was sorting out the line to get it untangled when KER-SPLASH!! Gitchi had jumped into the water again *without me even throwing anything for her to go after*! So I lobbed the toy over her head to land in front of her, and she repeated the fetch/dive toy grab and again swam strong and sure through the pounding waves back to the steps. By this time I was pretty much completely drenched, so I figured what the hey, if I needed to go in after her I couldn't get much wetter.

So I just let her keep going, which meant she would bring the toy up two or three steps, drop it, and then turn around and LEAP as far out as she could back into the waves. Another diving fetch and back onto the stairs only to leap with wild abandon back into the waves, toy or no toy. Just like at Rummy's, she would not leave the water without fetching the toy, but it obvious it wasn't about the fetch - it was *all* about the LEAP into the water.

When the sun had dipped below the waves and it was time to go, I had my hands full trying to DRAG Gitchi back up the steps with her scrabbling to get back down to jump in again, finally bracing her butt against a step so I had to actually pick up the soaking little beast to get her back over the seawall onto dry land. Once up there, she didn't want anything to do with the toy - I had to just keep propelling her toward the car to make sure she didn't break and run back down the steps to the water.

It's not like I'm not familiar with high-drive retrievers -- moma Gris is quite obsessive about water retrieves. But with Gris, like most retrievers that I've known/trained in my life, it is all about throwing the bumper for her to go after - if I don't throw it, Gris will stand at the edge of the water and whine until I throw it. But I've never seen a dog  so totally into the jumping in part of the water retrieve. Never.

Monday, February 14, 2011

My Funny Valentine

What better way to spend Valentine's day than in Puppy Love? LOL! Gitchi and I celebrated the day and the nice weather in the yard as the sun went down and even after under he lights.Here she is learning handling maneuvers, including her very first REAR crosses!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnEspvcIXac

Wishing Cade a painless and uneventful rabies shot tomorrow.

Suse'n Gitchi

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Here's video of today's training...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nJR2NFGZa0

Suse'n Gitchi

It's got *something* to do with my left hand...

I'm pretty sure Gitchi is right-pawed. Why I think this doesn't have anything to do with training observations, nor even that at the end of a jump grid she always turns in the same direction to come back toward me. (Honestly, until I wrote that I hadn't even thought of looking - now I'll have to go watch her videos to see which way she turns.) It's just that I've noticed that she's more 'expressive' with her right paw - flops it over bones to hold them, waves it at me when I squeak toys at her, 'holds' my arm with it when I scrumple her ears, pawing with it to get under the sheet to play Tug Monster.

A couple days ago I was just sitting on the bed messing with her, too lazy to get up and go get treats and a clicker, and spontaneously decided to see if I could increase how much she used her left hand. (Sorry about the use of "hand" instead of "paw", but many many years ago a vet xrayed the family dog's "arm", and so my dogs have had arms and by extension hands, ever since - although adopting this terminology does open the door to some possible angst on their part, and guilt on mine, about the whole "disposable thumb" issue. But I digress.)  So anyway I just sat there watching TV and waited for her to move her left hand independent of her right. When she did, I said "yes" softly and started a game of tug. Really no big deal, definitely no forethought or plan to it, and except for me watching for something specific and saying "yes", it was the same thing we were doing before this notion/observation/reaction occurred to me. And it was subtle, but within just a few minutes, probably less than a dozen left hand "yes" markers, she was definitely favoring leading with her left. I was impressed but pretty soon I wandered off and forgot about it.

20-30 minutes later Gitchi walked over and made eye contact with me and pawed the air, a kind of low wave, not an unusual action for her. But I did notice that she did it with her left "hand", so I said "yes" and gave her some loving.

Hours later I told Steve I was encouraging her to use her left "hand" so she would be ambidextrous, and he's been pointing out to me ever since how she is using left hand much more often now. He asked me what I was teaching her to do with her left hand, and I had to admit to myself I hadn't a clue. "Just stuff" seemed an inadequate answer, so I made up something about balancing her neural pathways and cerebral hemispheres to shut him up, and he seemed duly impressed.

But Gitchi might perhaps not be so easily impressed. It's been about two days now since that thoughtless little experiment, and she seems to be trying to get me to clarify just WHAT is earning these spontaneous bouts of attention. She knows it's got something to do with her left hand. She just isn't sure what, and so she keeps experimenting. And since I'm not sure what it is either, I keep reinforcing. I'm wondering if she'll go ON experimenting, and for how long? Will she eventually do something so clever with her left hand that I'll want to mark it, but by then will she'll have decided that what I'm after is for her to NOT do the same thing again next time?

I also wonder how many things like this I reinforce unconsciously by giving attention. Like we both know that when she walks by carrying a sock, it gets my attention. But does picking up the toy that's right next to my sock get my attention? She's got me at "woof", but does sitting nicely at the french door without barking at the squirrels get my attention? Or lying quietly while I eat? Going into her kennel on her own at night without being told? Napping at my feet right now while I type, even though it's beautiful out and she'd rather be out there DOING something?

Hmm....

Suse'n Gitchi

Friday, February 11, 2011

Crate Games - Gitchi at 6 months old

Can I say how much I LOVE Crate Games?!! At 6 months old, Gitchi is a veteran of "playing" these "games" - she's been doing them at least a third of her life, after all!! She's even taught a class on them ;-> I love how it carries over to doorways and gates. All I have to do is pause expectantly with my hand poised to touch the latch, and she pops into a sit and waits for a release - well, usually anyway. She is just a puppy after all, so we still have some generalizing to do. But all in all, I am thrilled at the amount of self-control she has shown she is capable of!

I know that watching a dog sitting in a crate is kinda dry viewing, but there are some neat scenes of her driving into the crate from a distance, as well as flying back out to engage in tug. So here's a video of Gitchi playing "Crate Games":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO_htjp4DdQ

Suse'n Gitchi