Doggy Day Care

For months people have been telling me how magical doggy day care is, especially for dogs with endless energy like my sweet Kozmo. It sounded good in theory, but really what kind of idiot puts their dog in day care? It sounds sort of absurd and like some pretentious yuppy thing that's not really my style. Kozmo does NOT get tired. I get tired trying to keep him out of trouble. I looked at day care online. It's not cheap. The average price is about $20 a day. He is a dog!! I have bills. Then Kozmo gets into trouble, I look at day care again. It's a logistical nightmare. I live in a small town. I am a tree hugger. I have a long commute. I try to car pool to reduce my carbon foot print. These expensive doggy day care options would require a lot of extra driving. Other people told me the wonders of having their dogs in day care. I resisted.....

Kozmo was lucky enough to have the best dog sitter in the world. However, his sitter is even busier than Kozmo's humans and not able to take him. Kozmo's humans have some trips and commitments that require us to find proper care for Kozmo. I will not consider a traditional kennel. Kozmo came from a shelter and it says right on his records he was suffering from kennel stress. He was lucky to find an amazing foster home until he came into our lives. Maybe Kozmo doesn't remember his time at the shelter. Maybe I put too many human emotions on decisions I make for my dog. Either way, I ruled out any type of kennel situation where he would be in a concrete area with chain link fence and unable to interact with other dogs or humans for play and love.

I had some friends recommend a dog type resort. Again, why is everything so darn expensive? And, again, I live in a small town where nothing seems to be close or convenient. I finally found a place that offers "cage-less kennels".  Basically Kozmo would get to stay inside and have his own bedroom. Each doggy room has a couch for snuggling and sleeping. I don't allow Kozmo on furniture so this isn't a selling point, but this nice kennel is also a doggy day care. As part of the kennel charge your dog can also be in day care all day on the days he stays there.  This seems like a great option for Kozmo so he can have lots of attention and interaction and get tired.

As with all good things in life there was a catch. Kozmo couldn't participate in day care until I filled out a 5 page application and took him for a temperament evaluation. Honestly I understand why the dog facility has to do this and it makes me feel better to take him to such a professional and conscientious place. At the same time it seems somewhat absurd to me that I'm going through all of this for a dog. I hear my friends with human children discussing day care and interviews and preschool and such and am always grateful that my four legged children don't need all that crap....until now.

I really never thought I would ever say, "hey I just completed my dogs day care application" but I did and I spent a lot of time on it because I wanted to present Kozmo in the best light and have my "kid" accepted. Kozmo has changed my life in ways I never thought possible. I had no idea how many things are involved in adding a dog to your family. I am head over heels in love with this dog so I try to do what is best for him and laugh at the absurdity as I go along.

Yesterday was the big day, my little man was going to day care. I got up early. I was nervous. Koz knew I was nervous and would not do his business. We walked and walked and walked. Now it didn't matter that I got up early, we were running late. He finally did his thing and we could pack up for our day. I decided to take Koz to day care on a day where he had agility class. I was hoping he would be tired from day care and excel in class. I had to pack Kozmo's school bag, my work bag, my sneakers for agility class, plus Kozmo's bowl and food (he was having breakfast at daycare since we were already running late)...so I am juggling all this stuff in my hands plus a much needed cup of coffee and Kozmo's leash.

We head out the back door and Kozmo is excited. He sees his food dish in my hands. He starts jumping. I really don't want to make two trips to the car. I'm juggling everything and just couldn't keep my coffee cup upright. Of course my dog with his white head happens to be directly under the spilling coffee. Koz is still jumping and we are getting closer to the car. Finally all our bags are in the car and we are off to day care. My dog has coffee stains on his head, I have muddy paw prints on my shirt, and I am going to be late for work. I really don't know how people do this every day for human kids.

We arrive at day care and Kozmo can hear the other dogs barking and its a new place and he does not want me to leave. Just like at the groomers he will not go on his leash with the nice woman who runs the day care. I tell her I'm going to have to walk him into the room and then leave. He walks into the room with me, I hand the leash to the woman in charge, and tell my buddy to have a good day. I walk out the door as quickly as possible with tears stinging my eyes and Kozmo barking and howling like he is going to die. I'm exhausted and still have a 40 mile drive to work.

I resisted all of my urges to call and check on my dog. I kept telling myself no news was good news. I was hoping that Koz was having fun. It looked like a fun place, I saw a slide and tunnels.

On my way to pick up Kozmo from day care I picked up the other human at work. I wanted him to hear first hand the results of Kozmo's temperament evaluation. We walked in and I asked how out little buddy behaved and she said "goood" but you could hear the "buttttt...." in her voice. The good news is that Kozmo is allowed to go back. However, he needs a lot of work. Kozmo lacks doggy socialization skills and doesn't really understand what is appropriate play. He seemed to think the proper way to greet all of the new dogs was to try to fit their entire neck in his mouth. The day care woman stressed that he has NO aggression and is simply full of puppy energy. He had to be separated from some of the other dogs because he made them nervous with his crazy energy and lack of manners.

The other problem is that Kozmo gets so focused on play or running around that he wouldn't listen to the day care teacher. If she would try to grab his collar to correct him or shift his focus he would do one of his famous duck and run moves where he escaped her reach and ran around in what he thinks is a really fun game of chase. What do you say? I know he's not perfect. He goes to school two nights a week. We are working on these issues. If I knew how to correct this over night I would have done it a long time ago.

The important thing is that Kozmo is allowed to go back and we have a safe place to keep him when we need to travel. So we are going to try to put him in day care one day a week to help socialize him to play better with other dogs.

When we got in the car to go to agility I told the other human what I heard from the dog day care assessment is that I either need another dog or more day care. The other human couldn't say "DAY CARE" fast enough. When we got to agility class Kozmo's trainer and his human classmates couldn't wait to hear about his first day of day care. I told them and said I either need another dog for Kozmo to play with or more day care. The three women in class quickly, emphatically, and in unison said, "DAY CARE!!!!!".

Long overdue update

I am so sorry to all of Kozmo's friends and fans. Kozmo and his humans have been quite busy and we haven't been able to find the time for blog updates. We last left off with Kozmo getting ready to try Rally Obedience. Kozmo has had two classes and is doing great. If you aren't familiar with Rally go search for some videos from dog shows. In the ring are numbered stations, each human has to approach the sign and do whatever it says. All sorts of things like down, or make your dog down and stay while you walk around the dog, or take one step - dog sits, take two steps - dog sits, and three steps - sit. For beginning Rally all dogs are on leashes so the class is pretty calm. Just a few other dogs and their humans taking turns going through this course. No running or jumps or obstacles. Part of the reason our trainer wanted Kozmo to take this class was to work on his obedience and to learn how to be more calm. He gets so excited in Agility.

Kozmo has had a really busy week, and in typical Koz fashion is taking it all in stride. One of the thing we realized this week is that we think Kozmo finally realizes we are his forever home and his forever humans.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Kozmo's dog school there are two locations. Until we started Rally, Kozmo always had class at the training facility. It's a great place that is only an indoor training facility. The other location has classes, doggy day care and grooming. The only time Kozmo had been to the other location was to have his nails done. Kozmo doesn't enjoy a pedicure quite the way his human does. He really hates having his feet touched and he thinks that he could possibly die from having his nails trimmed.

Our rally classes are held in the same location as the groomer. When we walked in for our first class he saw a human and a dog he knew and was still quite upset. I told him to calm down, he knows to act better for class. Then it hit me, Kozmo thought we were there to get his nails done. If felt bad for not being more sensitive. Once we moved into the training room and class started Kozmo was fine.

This week Kozmo needed his nails done. We walk into the building and Kozmo has that wiggle in his step and even appeared a little cocky for class. Until I tried to hand his leash to the groomer. My big 70 pound baby started shaking like a leaf and would NOT go into the grooming room. I had to walk him into the room. The entire time he was having his nails trimmed he howled and cried like he was being murdered. I was so embarrassed. It was the end of the work day and many people were in the lobby waiting to pick up their dogs. They were all snickering. I know they were thinking "at least MY dog doesn't act like this".  When the groomer brought Kozmo out he almost tackled me. Some guy in the lobby made a comment that he couldn't believe the dog crying and making all that noise was this big dog.

We had a little time between getting his nails done and the start of class so Kozmo go to go to a doggy friendly store to buy dog food. Sadly, my little puppy is growing up and we bought our first bag of adult dog food. Kozmo was on his best behavior in the store and didn't bark once. The other human and I were so proud and remembered the first time we took him into a store and didn't think Kozmo could ever go in public with us without barking and acting like a nut.

Poor Koz, we go back to the groomer for class this time and he didn't see the humor in us asking if he wanted his nails done. Koz had a great class. For the first time I saw proof that he has bonded to me. During class our trainer tried to take Kozmo's leash to demonstrate something. Almost every week for months he has listened to the trainer and done whatever she asked. For some reason Kozmo wouldn't listen and walked over to me. At first I was embarrassed that he wouldn't listen to our trainer, but she said it was a good thing. Kozmo finally sees me as HIS human. It's a pretty cool feeling. Unconditional doggy love makes you smile.

Stay tuned for our next post about doggy day care!!

Intermediate Agility

We certainly have our work cut out for us. We had a week off and started a new session of agility classes. Kozmo's trainer decided he was ready to move from beginning agility to intermediate agility. She is the expert and the time suits my schedule so Kozzy started intermediate agility.

One of the many things I love about our dog school are the small classes. We arrived to meet two other dogs in our class. A sweet Lab and an adorable Sheltie. Kozmo doesn't know enough to be intimidated, but his humans were humbled. Both of these dogs are much calmer, much better trained, and much closer to competing.

During class we learned that both of the other dogs are 3 years old. Also, both of these other dogs are owned by humans who have not only had other dogs before but have trained and competed in agility with other dogs. These other two dogs, especially the Sheltie are amazing and really fun to watch.

Unlike our last class where lots of obstacles were set up our first intermediate agility class only had 3 jumps and the weave poles set up. Now we are working on properly approaching the obstacles and perfecting our technique. I think it should go without saying that Kozmo was no where near the top of his class.

Those darn weave poles are the most frustrating obstacle ever. Our trainer suggested I use a wooden spoon with cheese wiz to help lead Kozmo through the weave poles. This is much better than holding a treat in my hand and having Kozmo nipping at my hand. I arrived with a wooden spoon from my kitchen. I forgot the cheese, but our trainer always has everything I forget. We worked on the weave poles several times. Kozmo is improving but it looks a lot easier on tv. When you see dogs run through the weave poles on tv and think to yourself that looks cool, I'm telling you that you need to really appreciate the countless hours both the dog and trainer put in to make it look so fun and easy.

After his last time through the weave poles I was holding the wooden spoon for Kozmo to lick off all the remaining cheese. He proceeded to bite the spoon so hard he broke it in half and took off running around the room with part of a wooden spoon in his mouth. I was more embarrassed than usual. The other dogs in class know how to come when their human calls them. Our trainer sent me out of the room, captured and corrected Kozmo. He is the class clown.

We did better with the jumps. Kozmo knows how to jump. Sitting straight before we start jumping and coming to me after the jump are where we need to improve. Now that we are intermediate students we had two jumps lined up and one at a 45 degree angle. We are starting to learn how to guide our dog through an actual course. Making the dog turn at an angle is a "bump out". The human has to touch their foot in the dog's path, quickly signal "out" and then send them over the jump. Surprisingly both Kozmo and I got the hang of this pretty quickly.

Our trainer could sense my frustration. Kozmo and I both need a lot of work, mainly with obedience and impulse control. At the end of class she talked to us and reminded us that Kozmo is much younger than the other dogs in class and is full of potential. She said we need to work on obedience. At our trainer's suggestion we are starting a Rally Obedience class with her one night a week.

I don't know much about Rally other than our trainer says it will help Koz. I want Kozmo to be a great all around dog and since he has the athletic ability to do agility and we clearly need an outlet for all of his energy we are committed to agility. I'll let you all know how the first night of Rally goes tonight. I'm a little nervous and I'm sure Kozmo has no idea he should be nervous too.

Doggy DNA

What makes Kozmo the Koz? Since the day I met Kozmo I've been trying to figure out what special mix of breeds make him so cute, so much fun, and have so much energy. The shelter told me he was a Lab - Dalmatian mix. Everyone who meets Koz has their own opinion, I've heard all sorts of guesses.

With a very generous birthday gift from my best friend I did a doggy DNA test and waited on the edge of my seat to find out what special mix made Koz such a one of a kind dog.

The results are in and I don't think any of us could have guessed our could ever recreate this special mix!!!

This DNA test was truly the best birthday gift. His results arrived in my email and I spent the evening looking at photos and reading about all of the breeds identified.

Below is the DNA Certificate:


The folks at Canine Heritage test for DNA markers in 120 different breeds. Because Kozmo has no primary breeds identified we know for sure that neither of his parents was a pure breed dog. Kozmo seems to come from a long line of mixed breeds and there isn't enough of any one breed to be identified as a secondary breed.

Kozmo has four breed identified as "in the mix" and the only one of those four anyone guessed before the test is Staffordshire Bull Terrier. If you look at his head you can see the square shape. None of us could have ever guessed Great Pyrenees or Shih Tzu. Now that I look at photos of a Great Pyrenees and think of my friend's GP, I see it in Kozmo's eyes and mouth. Kozmo smiles. We read that Dalmation smile but Great Pyrenees can also smile. I don't see anything that even resembles a Shih Tzu, all I can say is those little dogs get around.

Now that I look at Kozmo's spots and see some of his instincts when he sees small animals like squirrels and bunnies on our walks the Bluetick Coonhound makes sense.

Kozmo is such a mix that traces of two other breeds showed up. Boston Terrier and Vizsla. Until I got Koz I never heard of a Vizsla. My pet sitter regularly keeps two Vizsla's. They are intense high energy dogs. I vividly remember asking my pet sitter why on earth anyone would go out and choose a dog with that much energy. I guess the joke is on me, because my little darling has some energy!!

If you are like me and now take the time to google each one of these breeds you will find that in addition to similar physical characteristics Kozmo also has some personality traits from each breed. It seems like my instincts were right on one thing, most of Kozzy's breeds make great agility dogs.

Since I am such a visual person with OCD tendencies I had to make a visual aid of the breeds. Look at all the breeds that make my little boy so special and let me know what you see in him. For now, I'm calling him a Great Blue Bull Shih. Suggestions welcome!!

Great night at agility class

Kozmo had a great night at his agility class. I am still beaming with pride. It was our last class of the session and we had a very special guest. One of my oldest and dearest friends happened to be in town. Being a dog person she didn't think it was odd that I invited her to go to class with me.

Our trainer was very impressed with Kozmo. It was a great way to end this session of classes. Kozmo worked on some new skills. He did the chute, which is similar to the tunnel. The dogs start through a barrel but there is fabric on the end that they have to push through to get to the other side. Kozmo went right through when his trainer held the fabric up and he could see through the chute. He tried to back out once she left go of the fabric. I stood behind the entrance so he couldn't back out and he quickly realized there was nothing scary about going into a dark chute and finding his way out.

The next new obstacle was a broad jump. Boards are placed on the ground and he had to jump them without touching. He's good at the high jumps and got the broad jump on the first try.

The dog walk was set up. Koz and I struggled at first. You have to approach the dog walk perfectly straight because it is so narrow. I was moving my arm and leading Kozmo at an angle and he wanted to jump off the ramp. It took a few tries, but we figured it out. Below is a video clip our special guest managed to capture with her iphone. Kozmo did the dog walk perfectly and the best part of this video is that you can hear our trainer's praise and enthusiasm.

Kozzy really impressed his trainer last night. Not once did he decide to run around the room and be the class clown. He did everything we asked him to do. Now that we are practicing the weave poles with a wooden spoon and spray cheese rather than holding a treat in my hand and having Kozmo's sharp teeth nipping we are both doing much better. Kozmo is starting to get the hang of weaving his body through the poles. It won't be long until he can start to pick up speed.

Kozmo learned another new skill last night, the bump out. We did two jumps in a row that were on angle. The second jump was placed at a 45 degree angle from the first jump. I had to set Kozmo up to do the first jump on an angle then quickly place my foot so he knew to shift direction, say "out" and then send him over the second jump.

Because my friend was sitting beside me I whispered to her that this looked really hard. Our trainer said since I was talking I could go first. Just like Kozmo, I get in trouble in class. We entered the ring and I was nervous. To my surprise, and everyone else in the room, Kozmo did this perfectly the first time. He did it again three times just to make sure it wasn't a fluke.

Kozmo finished this session of agility classes by doing a course from start to finish. He did tunnel, dog walk, weave poles, jump, and teeter consecutively. It was so much fun. We can't wait for the next session of agility classes to begin. We are also going to try a rally class at the suggestion of our trainer. I don't know what to expect but our trainer is really excited to get Kozmo into rally. I'm sure it will be fun.

Calendar Contest Winner

Kozmo doing what he loves best, fetching a stick and swimming

As you can see from the photo above, Kozmo is happiest when he can run and play, especially when water is involved. I've always wanted a water dog and am trilled Kozmo loves the water as much as his humans.

As most of you know Kozmo entered a contest to possibly have his photo featured in a calendar made by the shelter where we adopted Kozmo. The calendar entries were not judged on cuteness or votes, only on how much money each pet raised for the shelter. I bothered all of my friends and family and made a donation. I kept telling myself that it didn't matter if Kozmo had his own month in the calendar, what was most important was helping raise awareness about our local shelter and raise money to help other animals like Kozmo.

For those of you who know me, you have to know this was very difficult for me. I am a little competitive and as much as I wanted to help the shelter, selfishly I wanted my dog to have his photo featured in the calendar. One of my goals is to make him an ambassador for all shelter dogs.

Last night we got some great news, Kozmo will have his photo featured in one month of the 2013 pet calendar!! He was one of the top 12 fundraisers and earned his own month. We are very happy and proud.

The photos in the post are from a photo shoot with Kozmo trying to get the best possible calendar photo. This is very hard for me. As Kozmo's human I love every photo with him and think he is the cutest dog ever. However, as a photographer I can find a million things wrong with every photo.

The photos in this post are some of my favorites as Kozmo's human, but ones that didn't make the cut for our quest for the best possible photo of Koz to submit for the calendar. These photos were taken on a hot Sunday afternoon at Trough Creek State Park. Kozmo had no idea it was a photo shoot. He was just happy to be in the water and playing with his humans.

Stay tuned, now that we asked  you all to donate for the calendar contest we will soon be asking you to buy copies of the calendar!!

 

too busy

Last night the other human wanted me to go to the grocery store with him. I can't, I'm too busy, I replied. I am busy. I have no less than 7 billion things that all need done, yesterday. So while the other human was at the store guess what I found myself doing? I stood in my kitchen with a half dozen Kong toys in various sizes lovingly stuffing them with precise alternating layers of plain yogurt and dog food. I stuff Kong toys with yogurt and dog food and freeze them. These frozen treats not only make Kozmo happy, but they keep him busy.

It's funny how much my life has changed since Kozmo came into my life. I am very busy, but somehow I find time to make sure Kozmo gets to go to the park every day and always has a fresh supply of frozen Kong treats.

Stay tuned, Kozmo will have some exciting announcements soon. We are waiting on the edge of our seats for his DNA results to come back and tell use what combination of dog breeds make Kozmo so darn cute. We also find out this week if Kozmo raised enough money to have his photo featured in the Humane Society 2013 calendar. This week is also Kozmo's last agility class for this session. We have a week off and then Kozmo is going to take both a Rally class and Agility. Rally will help him with obedience and make him a better agility dog.