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April 13, 2006

More Laika

Laika is doing really well. At least three times a day I think, "how could we get so lucky to get such a great dog?"

Her biggest problem seems to be separation anxiety (or is that mine?). Sometimes she can come to work with me, but she's still learning, so sometime it's a better option for her to stay at home.

She has a boyfriend at work named Huck (his full name is Huckleberry Finn), a big chocolate lab who's about a month older. Yesterday they lay on the floor together kissing disgustingly. Today at the vet I learned that she might have a mite infestation which may or may not be contagious. It will be embarrassing if she has to notify Huck (not to mention her other friend, Gage) about it, but meanwhile she stays home. (Otherwise her vet checkup went great; officially she is a "black lab mix" and also officially "really cute!") (Later: no embarrassing notifications; Laika has Demodex mites and we just need to get her immune system up to the task of fighting them off.)

I'm getting the impression that someone tried training her before, but with a much too heavy hand. She picks up things very quickly but seems to expect punishment. With lots of encouragement, she blossoms and has the happiest, prettiest trot I've ever seen. That said, she can have a stubborn streak. We're both learning.

I've been reading two books that have been really helpful. One is an actual dog book, Good Owners, Great Dogs, by Brian Kilcommons, a protege of Barbara Woodhouse. I never realized how much dog training/care stuff is actually non-intuitive, and this book explains a lot. The other one, a book I happened to just pick up at random in the search for a good read, is the amazing Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior, by Temple Grandin. From a review in Scientific American, "An autistic woman who as a child was recommended for institutionalization, Grandin has managed not only to enter society’s mainstream but ultimately to become prominent in animal research. An associate professor at Colorado State University, she designs facilities used worldwide for humane handling of livestock." Because of this book, I'm able to understand things why Laika balks on the sidewalk at work just before we get under the sheltered area of the walkway...the contrast between light and dark makes her wary.

Posted by terrie at April 13, 2006 09:36 PM