Guard Dog!

So, I'm home sick today (thanks Jeremiah!) and this morning I was laying in bed, kind of tossing around. The bedroom door was open, and Jeremiah had left for work already. And all of a sudden, Hank heard something. His ears were peaked up, so I told him to "go get it." He jumps off the bed, I hear him go down the stairs, check everything out, and come back upstairs. It's kind of nice to have a guard dog!

But, we have a new neighbor moving in today, and the moving company is RIGHT outside our door. Hank is on red alert today keeping an eye on the movers and all the commotion. I finally let him out on the patio to check it out, since he was pacing by the front door. I met the neighbor, he kind of shares too much, but I think we'll be OK...

Presidential Dogs

Alright, so Hank's the greatest dog in the world if I haven't mentioned that to you yet this week. Last night, I was feeling a little blech, so went up stairs and laid in bed. NOTHING was on TV, so as I was looking through I noticed a show called Dogs 101 on Animal Planet. But this wasn't any episode, it was the Presidential Dogs episode! It was actually REALLY fun! It was all about dogs that presidents have had AT the White House, and what kinds of dogs, and all that fun stuff. Hank would have a blast at the White House we decided, and America would (obviously) fall in love with him, but no, he's my dog.

Anyway, if you're curious to watch it (or home bored since it's that mid-season TV time and nothing good is on till LOST on Wednesday) see if it's still showing on Animal Planet, or you can watch it here:

http://animal.discovery.com/tv/dogs-101/

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie...

Since busy season is over for Jeremiah, we decided to go to a cool new wine-centric restaurant in Kirkland at the Woodmark Hotel. It was a GREAT meal, and we stayed the night at the hotel too, which was fun. But, when we stay at a hotel, Hank stays at the Pets Hotel!

Since we're practicing the kennel training with Hank, I was a little nervous about the overnight, but he's doing much better at getting into his kennel at day camp, which is great. He still barks when he's in there alone, but I think he's mostly bored, and at least he's not fighting the employees to get out of the kennel.

This morning we went to pick up Hank at camp. Stephi was working, and she's been at PetsHotel since we got Hank, so she knows us and Hank VERY well, actually all the employees know Hank VERY well. But when he greats you with a nose in your crotch, it's hard to not feel close right away!

Anyway, we asked Stephi how he did, and she said, he did good, and slept in the playroom last night. WHAT!? Yeah, he wasn't having any of it in the kennel last night, and I think he may have been keeping other dogs up, so they brought his bed into the day camp room, and he did OK. He also seemed to eat, which is good.

He's passed out after the over night, and Jeremiah's staying home tomorrow, so they'll get some good bonding time. And, hopefully we can work on this getting to sleep where ever I want thing...

No drugs, just like it!

Hank's been spending a lot of time at day camp in January. It's busy season for Jeremiah, and I've had a crazy month at work for some reason. So, he's at camp a lot. Day Camp runs from 9-12 and 1-5. So if I drop him off at 7:30 and pick him up at 7:30, you get the picture...Hank is the best dog in the world, but he doesn't care for kennels. So, at camp on Monday he was barking in his kennel during the lunch break and cut his lip. Just a little bit, he's fine, but since he was at camp, they took him over to the Vet clinic and cleaned him up. Back to camp moments later, and off to run around with his friends. They also moved him out of the chain link kennel into a glass door kennel, so he can't injure himself as easily. This is the latest in a month worth of "I hate the kennel" antics. So, when I picked him up on Monday after work, they mentioned that maybe Hank should start taking a chill pill. I guess a few other dogs at camp do that. I stopped at the vet clinic and asked about it, and then when I got home, I did a little online research and then e-mailed my friend Diane, the dog trainer. Diane responded how I hoped she would, that the pill is a band aid, and it's all about the training and reinforcement. So, no drugs for Hank (YAY). But we need to work on this HATE of the kennel.

After Hank's first antic of the month, scratching his toe on the kennel, we talked about doing some private training for him at camp. Isis, the dog trainer comes into camp a few days a week, and goes and plays with him in the kennel. The goal is to make the kennel a HAPPY fun place where Hank likes to be, and not punishment. So, Diane has an extra crate that she trained her dog in, and she's going to let us borrow it for a while. Give him treats in the crate, feed him dinner in the crate, all fun delicious things, in the crate...But the crate is on loan to a friend. So this week we are going to try leaving him in a confined space for a few moments and up to a minute at a time. We shut the door to the office with him in it, and then let him out. He realized that being alone isn't forever, just for a few moments.

Diane and I also talked about his separation anxiety. He can still bark when we leave him home alone for a while. Mostly if we go out to dinner after not being with him all day. But he can bark, so we need to work on this.

Starting tomorrow, when he goes to day camp, we'll talk with the managers about spending some time with him in the kennel, and then leaving him alone and going back a couple minutes later to play with him again. Getting him to a point where it's not a bad thing, and he's not ignored, but it's a fun place that he gets to relax in, play in, and hangout for a short period of time. I know this will work, but I sure hope it works SOONER rather than later!

I also took him to the dog park yesterday, it was a BEAUTIFUL Saturday!