Socialization continutes and agility classes start

I was so excited for dog socialization class this week. Yes, I wanted my dog to get to play with the other dogs, but I have to admit I was also excited to see some of the humans. It's funny to me how dog socialization is also socialization for the humans and how Kozmo continues to be such a great gift. If it weren't for Kozmo I wouldn't have nearly as many human interactions.

Just like Kozmo learns each week, I'm also learning so this week I felt better prepared for class. I think Koz might have remembered dog socialization from last week. As soon as we pulled in the parking lot he started to get really excited.

I'm calling this week a huge success. We stayed for the entire hour and Kozmo didn't try to hump any other dogs and he didn't poop. He had so much fun running around with the other dogs. The one thing we need to work on is Kozmo coming to me when he's off leash. Although last night in agility our trainer thinks it's because I lean over to grab his collar when he gets close. I need to stand up straight and trust him.

One of the other humans takes photos at dog socialization. I'm thrilled she shares these photos because I'm so busy focused on keeping an eye on Kozmo and making sure he doesn't get into trouble that I'm lucky if I end up with a few blurry cell phone photos at the end of the night. Below are some photos of Koz and his new doggy friends. It's so much fun to see a room full of happy dogs.

Photo by Kaylee & Roscoe P's human

Marley & Roscoe - Photo by Kaylee & Roscoe P's human

Sunny in action - Photo by Kaylee & Roscoe P's human

Sydnee - Photo by Kaylee & Roscoe P's human

Koz slowing down - Photo by Kaylee & Roscoe P's human 

 In 50 short minutes Kozmo ran and played so much that he actually got tired. He didn't want to fetch any longer. He wanted to take a tennis ball, lay down, and start removing all the fuzzy stuff from the tennis ball. He was really having fun. I don't want him to be destructive but Kaylee and Roscoe P's human made me feel much better. She told me to let him have fun. I think one of the lessons I need to learn in dog socialization is not to worry so much about Koz, he's a dog.

It was awesome to see Kozzy tired. We all know that a tired dog is a good dog. Here he is at the end of the class.

A tired dog is a good dog!

I've been looking forward to starting agility classes again. I thought for sure that with dog socialization on Wednesday Kozmo would be a good boy for agility class Thursday. I made sure I was home in time to give him a 2 mile walk before class.  We even practiced jumping on our walk. A road is closed in the park where we walk. I treat the chain across the road as a jump and make Koz practice every day.

This new session of agility class is a combination of beginning and intermediate. We have 5 dogs in class and 3 are brand new to agility. Kozmo and one other dog have some agility experience. In my naive mind I thought I did all of the right things for Kozmo to walk into this class and show the new dogs how it's done.

Remember, Kozmo's sole purpose in life seems to be to keep me humble. So we approach the jump. I sit my dog. I send him over the jump. He decides to grab his leash and start his stupid antics of showing off, playing tug with the leash and growling. How could this be? I thought we were prepared for class. Back to our seats we went to try to get Koz calm and wait for his next turn. After class, our trainer laughed at me for thinking Koz wasn't going to be wound up. He has had a month off from formal classes and he was meeting 4 brand new dogs and lots of new humans. "But he should know this," I protested. "He does" replied the all knowing trainer.

We got a second chance to redeem ourselves. The trainer asked us to start at the weave poles. We had some trouble because Koz isn't ready to be off leash. He's starting to wrap his neck around the poles. If his horrible human would break down and get a set of poles and practice at home he could do much better. We moved on to the tunnel, which is a piece of cake for Koz. This is where we identified more of my human mistakes. I was so nervous sending Koz through the tunnel off leash that as soon as he came through I was bending over to grab him before he ran around the room like a nut.

Once again, in doggy body language I'm doing the wrong thing. We already know Koz hates his neck being touched and gets a little jumpy when you try to grab him. I'm making this worse by bending over as he approaches me. So we had to do the tunnel several more times. Not because Koz doesn't know the tunnel but so I could practice standing up straight. Koz came to my hand every time.

We did the jump again. Koz knows how to jump. He did the jump and came back to me. I was happy. We ended with the table. It's just a table on the agility course and you have to tell your dog to jump on the table and sit or down. Koz knows this. We practice with a big rock and benches in the park. He ended class very well. He knows agility. Now the hard work is teaching his human the right body language, patience, and recall. We both need to master this recall thing.

It's going to take a lot more work but some day I will have an agility dog. For now I have an awesome dog who makes me smile every day.

Dog Socialization Class

Does everyone remember the Doggy Dip & Dive this summer? The local group trying to raise money to build a dog park had a fund raising event at the community pool. I was so excited for Kozmo to be part of the event and then there was the little incident where he wanted to hump the cute dog Kia and made her poor human jump in the pool fully clothed. Although it makes for a fairly entertaining story and no one was hurt, as Kozmo's human I'm still a little embarrassed.

So the same group is doing a wonderful thing for dogs and having Dog Socialization Classes held in a gymnasium that also doubles as a local skating rink. Its a weekly one hour event where dogs are able to run indoors, play with other dogs, and hopefully learn valuable socialization skills. When I first saw this advertised I really wanted to take Kozmo. Although it iss a 34 mile drive one way to the park. I wasn't going to take Kozzy until I saw a facebook post from the dog park advertising the socialization classes and a photo of my sweet Kozmo taken at the Dip & Dive was this groups Facebook profile photo.

I realize this may sound crazy to non-dog people, but I left work, drove 25 miles home, packed up Kozmo and drove an additional 34 miles south to Dog Socialization Class!!

We walked into a gymnasium with 12-15 other big dogs running and playing. We saw Sonny, a dog from our agility class. Several dogs from the Dip & Dive were there including Marley, a sweet chocolate lab who can smell Kozmo's treats in my pockets and follows me around. Koz was instantly running around the room trying to take everything in at once.

Typical Kozmo wanted to run after every ball. He really doesn't understand that sometimes humans are throwing balls for their dogs and not him. On the one hand I feel bad for the other dogs because every single time Kozmo is the fastest dog and gets the ball first. On the other hand, as Kozmo's human I love to watch him run fast and am so impressed with his athletic abilities.  

I noticed one of the other dogs lifting his leg and peeing on the tunnel. For a brief moment I was really happy that my dog didn't pee on the tunnel. Not to worry, within 5 minutes it was MY dog who stopped under the basketball hoop to poop. None of the other humans seemed the least bit phased. I was embarrassed. 

Having learned from our experience at the Dip & Dive I tried to keep a close eye on Kozmo and kept calling him back to me. Clearly we need more practice and more obedience training. Once he was running with the other dogs he acted like he couldn't hear me. When I noticed Koz drinking some other dogs water I got out our water bowl and showed it to him. After some hard playing and catching Koz trying to hump a sweet little dog named Vanessa I made him take a time out. One of the lessons I learned from the Dip & Dive was to not let Koz get too tired, too over stimulated and start to lose focus. 

We stayed for 40 minutes of the hour long socialization. In 40 short minutes Kozmo managed to get into a growling thing with a Bull Dog, twice, tried to hump Vanessa and Sunny who is a male dog, pooped on the floor and deflated the large pink ball. I decided not to give him any more opportunities to get into trouble. The goal is to be allowed to go back for 7 more weeks of socialization class.

Overall, I think he did well. We need to keep working on recall and being able to get Kozmo's attention when he's really excited and off leash. Next week I will also take some balls for the other dogs. Someday Kozmo is going to grow into an awesome dog. For now, we are working really hard.

Let it snow

Finally we got a real snow!! For many years all I have ever wanted for Christmas is a set of snow shoes and a puppy. Last year my dreams came true and I got both. The only problem was that we never got any snow. For an entire year my perfectly good snow shoes remained in a box with tags on them.

I've been hoping and dreaming of lots of snow. In anticipation of my long snowy hikes and snow shoe adventures Kozmo got his very own pair of boots for Christmas. Although they look really cute they serve more of a purpose than dressing up the dog. Dogs shouldn't walk long distances in the snow without boots because the snow and ice can pack up around their pads and cause sore feet.

I wasn't sure how Koz would do with his new boots since he hates to have his feet touched. He wasn't sure what to think the first time we put his boots on. Now Kozmo seems to understand that when the other human puts on his boots we are going to go for a hike.

Below are photos from our recent snow adventures. Kozmo and I are  anxiously awaiting another big snow and even more snow adventures!

A short run through the woods without boots

The first time Kozmo tried on his boots

A happy, happy dog

A quick break to do some chewing

He's learning the boots mean he will soon be in the woods

Patiently waiting for his human to catch up

Koz loves snow so much he is smiling