Week Adventures: Dog Sitting

This past week Drew and I have been house sitting for his parents, which includes taking care of their Pomeranian Teddy (and their cat Lucy). Poor poor Lucy. When ever we come over she hides for the entire night because she's afraid of Luna. This entire week I've only seen Lucy once— the first night we stayed over. When I went to bed the first night, I took the dogs with me (Teddy in his crate and Luna in the bed, snuggling up with me). I fell asleep and so did the dogs. Drew came into the room a few hours later and turned the lights on in the room, which woke everyone up including Lucy who happened to sneak in while everyone was sleeping. Once the dogs and the cat really came to consciousness, Lucy bailed as fast as a cat can go. She was a blur. And you can bet Luna chased right after her full throttle... and that's the last I saw of Lucy.

Haha, okay, I left that sounding pretty bad. Lucy is alive, Luna did not kill her. I think Lucy has just retreated into the darkest spots in the house and has been very very cautious when she comes out. She's a very sneaky cat. I only know she is still in the house because her food is getting eaten and her litter box has fun presents in it. 

Luna and Teddy play hard and crash hard. It is amazing. I think Luna really enjoyed the backyard to frolic around in and chase Teddy. It has been especially nice to have the backyard for her since the time change has made it harder to get her to the dog park after work, since its dark by the time I get home (and none of the dog parks have lights...LAME). 

We did bring both Teddy and Luna to the dog park this week, which was a very interesting experience. Teddy doesn't go to dog parks very often because he doesn't need to get out as much energy as Luna does. The backyard is enough play-ground for Tedster. The first time we brought him to the park, we kept his leash on and just had him take in what was going on. There were 3 other large dogs there, which I think confused poor Ted. Luna is the only big dog that Teddy plays with, and Luna knows how to play with him. These other dogs might not/and probably won't play with him the same way Luna does. So we were pretty cautious. Teddy cowards at first when another big dog gives him attention. He yelps and freaks out like the dog was hurting him (though the dog wasn't even touching him). But once he realized that Drew and I weren't going to save him from a playful friendly dog, he grew some balls and got a little more feisty, like his normal Pom self. After Teddy got used to the other dogs at the park he got some more confidence and wanted to roam and do his own thing. For one of his first times at a dog park he did very well. 

Everyone taking naps :)

This week Luna and Teddy have had a fabulous time hanging out and tiring each other out, which has made it lovely for Drew and I. Playing house this week has been so much fun. I can't wait for next time :)

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American Weekend

This 3 day weekend was action packed and huge for Luna!

1. OFF LEASH!

Friday, Drew and I experimented with off-leash potties with Luna. Last time we did this it turned into us chasing after her for an hour, the whole time I was having a heart attack. The Husky in Luna makes her BOLT, and the Lab in her makes her have ADD which makes it hard to get her to "come" when she sees a squirrel. But we have been working on it...slowly. So we decided to take a "leap of faith" and we took off her leash, grabbed a couple motivational treats and opened the door (dun, dun, DUNNNNN)! 

At first she was a little hyper to be off leash but stayed within 15 feet of us and just ran circles and peed. Then we told her to "come" and she did (so we gave her a treat), then told her to "go home" and straight up the stairs she went! SUCCESS!!! Happy parents for sure.

This is a video of Luna when told to "Go Home" after doing her business. (She gets ahead of me but looks back a couple times to see if I'm following).

2. Playing with 5lb Teddy

We went over to Drew's parents' house for Independence Day and Luna got to play with Teddy. I swear, every time we go over there, Luna and Teddy get better and better about playing together. The two got a little crazy when Moxie came around (3 dogs at G-ma and G-pas house can get exciting at first), but then settled down. They went outside and played with bubbles. Teddy was all about them and definitely won first place at popping the most bubbles. Then after a long play day the 3 were exhausted, and fell asleep. 

3. FIREWORKS!

This was the first time Luna would be experiencing fireworks with us. We didn't know how she'd react but seeing that the garbage truck that sounds like a plane crashing into our apartment never phases her, we weren't too worried. And when we walked to Downtown Livermore where they were setting off the fireworks, Luna was intrigued by the lights in the sky. She was staring at them just like she stares at flies, questioning how they got there and how in the world is she gonna get them! All in all a very successful, non-freak-out experience, which is a HUGE relief.

4. OFF LEASH X2!

Saturday, I took Luna to Lake Borris (the off-leash dog lake/trail area in Livermore, behind Shadow Cliffs). It is by far my favorite place to bring her. She can swim, play with other dogs, and get in a nice little tiny hike at the same time. This place is COMPLETELY off leash, and quite frankly it's the best place to train your dog off leash. There's no place the dog can really go and get into any real danger (far from busy streets, and it's basically all in a large ditch). Luna is a HUGE fan of water, I mean she tries to swim in the fountains Downtown, and I don't stop her. 

I decided that this time at Lake Borris, I would try to see how she does off leash on the walk over to the beach (well more like on leash, and I just drop it on the ground and let it drag behind her). I kept treats in hand and when she would get too far I would tell her to come back, and if she listened she was rewarded. She was amazing! I told her to "stay" when I wanted her walking right next to me (which was whenever I saw a dog coming towards us). Then I would have her sit, when the dog and its owner were about 10-15 feet away, and when they passed we would keep walking. 

I'm telling you, it must be a maturity thing, that once your dog hits 1, they listen better and do what you say (for the most part). I don't think that a week ago she would have been able to do this! It's crazy!

So we get to the beach part of the lake and she's playing and swimming and having a great time. Then this 5 month old Black Lab comes around and starts playing with Luna. This was the first time this dog has gone swimming, and the best way to teach your dog something is to have another dog train it! DO NOT EVER THROW YOUR DOG INTO A POOL TO TRY TO HAVE THEM SWIM!!!! EVERRRR!!! (It's like throwing a kid who doesn't know how to swim in the pool, and then they are traumatized for the rest of their life and will refuse to go in the water.) 

When it's time to go (when mom is tired and hot and sunburnt), I decided to put her on the leash again but drop it on the ground for a little. Then a couple minutes later I thought I would try and do NO LEASH AT ALL! And usually (like I said before) she will BOLT like there's no tomorrow. This time? That was not the case. She acted the same as when the leash was on the ground! She was a little more testing her limits but it was okay, she would turn around and walk by my side when I told her to. 

I was such a proud Mama. When we were almost to our car I put her leash back on and a dog who had just arrived was pulling his (or her) owner like you see in those movies. That Lab was easily 90lbs. Big boy (or girl). Then he (or she) just starts barking and barking and BARKING! Meanwhile, I just tell Luna, sit and stay, and she's quiet, just watching this chocolate Lab go berserk. And the owner and family say "Wow! How old is your dog?" And I tell them she's one. And they are shocked since their dog is 5 and "not as well trained." (Clearly a socialization issue). Sorry, was that bitchy? 

Not going to lie, Drew and I have done a great job training Luna on how we want her to act. Of course she isn't perfect and she still makes mistakes, but she's a dog. I'm not a military sergeant training soldiers, I am just a crazy dog lady training her crazy dog. 

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