"Look"

There are 3 things that The Pastelitos have not been doing well the last two weeks: "Look," "Heel" and "Stay."

For "Look," I should be able to say look and they look at my face. Dogs are 80% visual, so hand signals work well for teaching behaviors. The verbal commands are added after the behavior is mastered. They did this REALLY well in puppy and Intermediate class when I was able to use the clicker to signal "Good Job" and give them a treat as a reward. I can't do either in Advanced. In fact, for the first week of Advanced, I had to completely ignore them so they wouldn't take me for granted. After that week, they were completely focused on me at all times. Yet for the past few weeks, when I say, "Look!" they've just ignored me. They knew that what I wanted next was for them to sit and they would go ahead and sit but without the “look” first.

My trainer taught me a trick to get them to re-learn “look.” She said that if you tell them to “look” and they don’t, pinch the tip of the ear REALLY hard. It sends a shock and gets their attention FAST. I did that with Guava and as much as it pained ME to see her jump, it worked. The second time I said “look” after the pinch, she jumped away from me but did look. I was able to give her a “Good girl!” and scratch her head. Once she re-learned that “Look” can bring GOOD things, she hasn’t ignored me.

I was thinking about how the way I have to train them is similar to the way God is training me.

I need to remember to "Look," especially when He calls. It's one thing to do what we know He wants us to do, but that's not enough. We have to remember to always “Look” for Him to tell us rather than assume we know better. Also, sometimes if we don’t look, we get pinched and it hurts. We learn quickly to keep our eyes on our Master. It’s better for us in the long run.

The Holidays and Pity Invites

I get so tired of the holidays sometimes. Those with families feel sorry for those of us without and try to convince us to join their celebration, full of family inside-stories, traditions and drama that you don't feel included, you just feel like a spectator at a circus freak show. It just makes you feel WORSE than if you just stayed home and enjoyed the day on your own terms.

The truth is, it's not SAD that I'm home alone for the holidays. It's circumstance. I'm not entirely happy with it, but I'm dealing with it. To me, it's just another day only I get to live it on MY terms. Now THERE is something to be thankful for!

EPIC DOG FAIL!

The Pastelitos didn't pass their CGC test today. They seemed fine while we had to sit in the store with 15 other dogs, waiting for our turn. Then Queso got in the ring and got a bit antsy. Once he didn't pass, I think Guava could sense my disappointment, so she didn't even act like herself. I didn't feel 100% sure going in to it, though, so I'm not surprised or even that upset. It just means more hours of practice. It's been a crazy busy month so I didn't get to concentrate on them like maybe I should have. Now it's the holidays so I can be home more and focus on them. There's another test in a month. We'll see how it goes.

God's plan and the Dog plan

I have a plan for my dogs to be well-behaved, pass their CGC and then become Reading Therapy dogs. It looks like that may not happen the way that I wanted. My plan hasn't changed, though. The Pastelitos are just taking a longer route.


In the same way, God set up His perfect plan in motion and we messed it up. That doesn't mean His plan has changed, it just means our path has. When we stray, lose sight of Him or worry that He's left us, He helps us get back on track in a number of ways. Sometimes, it's painful. When we focus on Him, it's easier to understand what He wants us to do.