Kozmo's First Swimming Lesson

Kozmo has no choice but to be a water dog. His humans practically live at the lake for 6 months out of the year. Some of the features that made us pick him are his webbed feet, white coat, and short fast drying fur. We've known since we adopted him that he was going to be a water dog. Kozmo got his first glimpse of being a water dog and had his first swimming lesson on Sunday.

Let me start by explaining that the lesson would have gone much better if I hadn't left the bag of dog toys and treats on the counter when we left the house. It would also be better if Kozmo's unorganized humans would order him a doggy life vest. We decided to try an area where he could walk out into water that gradually got deeper. We approached the water and Koz walked right in and stood next to me. The other human went where it was deeper, about 15 feet away and started calling Kozmo. After some coaxing Kozmo swam to the other human and back to me and got lots of praise. He didn't want to do it again and we wanted to make this fun for him so the other human was swimming and enjoying the sun while I stayed along shore with Kozmo letting him play. He was interested in sticks and weeds.

Since sweet Kozmo likes to chew leashes we are down to the back up leash, the reason it's a back up leash is because it's only 4 feet and the clasp is junky. With a few spins and head moves Kozmo was free from the leash and running around. He found something gross. It was a skeleton of some sort, I couldn't figure it out and I didn't want to. He was happy, throwing this gross thing up in the air and chasing it. Our trainer told us not to chase him  and when he is chewing something he shouldn't have we ask to see what he has and offer a trade. I was able to grab a handful of weeds and make a trade. I left his disgusting skeleton chew toy and put the leash back on and tried again to get him to swim. Koz seemed happiest along the edge of the water. Since I didn't have treats or floating toys I just kept walking along the shore line hoping he'd get used to the water and have fun. He stuck his head in the water to retrieve a pile of weeds floating on top of the water.

Kozmo must have got bored with the shore line walk and did another fast move and broke free of the leash AGAIN. This time he went immediately to the skeleton and was running as fast as he could with this gross thing in his mouth. It was very helpful to have the other human in the water telling me that having the dog escape the leash one time was an accident and the second time was clearly a human error. I had visions of beating the other human with the leash, but I had to focus on getting my dog back. You have to understand how fun this was for Kozmo. He had a really awesome treat that was smelly, gross and crunchy AND a human playing chase with him. He was smiling. Kozmo would run with his treasure and just when he would lay down and start crunching on bones that I was sure he would choke on I would try to calmly walk up to him and ask what he had, every time I got close he would run away again.

I tried to offer a "trade" with a stick. Normally he likes to play fetch, but clearly the stick wasn't as smelly or interesting as the carcass he found. Still leisurely swimming, the other human suggested I try a trade with the gross pile of wet weeds Kozmo found interesting earlier. I really didn't want to touch these wet slimy weeds with my bare hands so I used 2 sticks as tongs and picked up the dripping weeds. Now I am walking around trying to entice my dog to drop his beloved dead toy and trade me for a pile of weeds that I am holding between 2 sticks. For some reason this makes the other human laugh and the scene is a beautiful lake close to sunset with a happy dog running in circles with something dead in his mouth, one human running behind the tog with two sticks and some weeds trying to beg and reason with a 10 month old puppy and another human floating in the water, enjoying the sun and offering a not so helpful running commentary of the entire chain of events.

Finally I convinced the other human to help project "Capture Kozmo". We both called Kozmo and went in different directions. We tried to catch him as he ran by us with this dead thing in his mouth. He is fast and would NOT give up his precious dead crunchy friend. We managed to chase him into some deep weeds. I wouldn't set foot in these weeds where there was a high probability I would encounter a snake. I have no treats to offer Kozmo. I go to the car and try shaking pretzels to fake him out. No luck. The other human decided to go back to the sun and his relaxing swim and told me Kozmo wouldn't come to me until he finished eating his gross find. I found one squeaky toy in the car and tried to lure Kozmo with a toy. While searching for the stupid toy or anything to distract Kozmo I managed to lose track of Kozmo. I start walking back to ask the other human for help and as I turned the corner I see Koz and his human just hanging out like the past 20 minutes didn't happen.

When I finally got to my two favorite boys I put 2 leashes on Kozmo!! We still had a partially chewed leash in the car with his junky back up leash. You can see him in the photo below wearing 2 leashes and 2 collars happy as can be from his little adventure. Just as I was catching my breath the other human threw Kozmo's toy into the water and Kozmo went after it. The good news is Kozmo went right into the water, the not so fun part is that I was attached to the end of 2 leashes and had to run to keep up with Koz. The toy did not float so I had to get it out of the water for Koz. We brought the toy back and just as I was sitting down the other human threw it again. I regretted not beating him with the leash earlier. Koz ran right into the water and actually stuck his head under water to get his toy!!! He is going to be a water dog!

We are calling the first swimming lesson a success and will try again in a few days. The next swimming lesson will involve treats, a doggy life vest and toys that float.

Most improved dog

Last night we took Kozmo to agility class. I wasn't sure what to expect from him. Last week he did all of the obstacles, but also ran around like a nut. We aren't the best humans ever. Kozmo got lots of love and his usual walks and even a few hikes this week but we were so busy we didn't take the time to really focus on his agility training. We have good intentions, but still haven't built a set of weave poles.

As usual, all of the other humans and dogs were in their seats when we arrived just in the nick of time. This week we were trying a new treat, all beef hot dogs. As a vegetarian, I swore my dog would never have certain things and I certainly would never touch certain things. Never say never, Kozmo has changed my life. I started class by taking a handful of gross hotdogs and shoving them in my pocket. Kozmo has no idea how much I love him.

Kozmo was doing great, he was focused on us and patiently waiting for his turn. The first obstacle was the teeter-totter. The goal was to make sure none of the dogs weren't afraid of the motion or sound of the teeter. Sidney, the Doberman who usually is perfectly behaved would do the teeter but then acted like Kozmo and ran around the room like a crazy dog. It made me feel good that my dog isn't the only one who gets excited in class. Sidney is 3 years old. On the one hand it makes me feel good these things happen to other dogs. On the other hand, I've been thinking that at age 3 Kozmo would instantly calm down and not be such a wild man. I'm starting to realize we have many, many years of an active dog ahead of us. I'm cool with that as soon as he masters consistently coming to me when I call him.

Kozmo had no fear of the teeter. He went across perfectly and waited at the end. His trainer was very impressed. She told me she could see huge improvements in both Kozmo and myself since last week. Kozmo and I returned to our seat with a big smile. Kozmo also got praise from his trainer when it wasn't his turn. She could see a big improvement in him lying down and waiting his turn and not jumping and barking at the other dogs. It's nice to finally see improvement and know we are doing somethings right.

A new obstacle was set up for out next part of class. It is called hoops and is a long series of colored hula hoops in a pvc frame. The hoops are all alternated at angles to make a long tunnel. The opening is a straight shot but looking through it seemed like it might confuse the dogs because it is so open and the hoops are facing different directions. (See image below) Kozmo had no problems with the hoop tunnel. We started with the trainer holding him and me going to the other end to call him through. Kozmo's only difficulty is sitting and waiting until I call him. He wants to run instantly, before the command is given. We did this several times with the trainer first and then the other human holding Kozmo until he relaxed and then I gave the command and was waiting at the other end to reward (and capture). Eventually Kozmo will perfect his sit stay and impulse control and will wait until I give the command to go through any obstacles. Kozmo did so well in the hoop tunnel that our human classmates clapped at the end. Everyone was impressed that he came to me and didn't try to run around the room and act like the class clown.

The next obstacle was what our trainer calls a big jump. It is a jump similar to what he has been doing, only wider. It had two poles. The dogs can't "pop" over this, they have to "sail" over and clear both poles. In agility there are many kinds of jumps and our trainer is trying to get them used to each one. Kozmo lined up, went over the big jump, and came back to me every time! We were very proud and very relieved that he did so well. Kozmo doesn't want to line up straight. When we approach the jumps he sits to the side. We have to work really hard to get him to sit straight and line up properly as we continue agility. The athletic part is a piece of cake for him, he'll jump anything. We just need to work on obedience and technique, for both Koz and his humans.

All of the dogs in our class are really getting the hang of each obstacle. What we will learn in our next class is how to run a course and move through all of the obstacles in a pattern. To end class our trainer wanted each dog to do 3 things in a row. She wanted us to send our dogs through the hoop tunnel, jump through the tire, and end with tunnel. The first dog, Sonny, was amazing. He did so well that he was doing hoop, tire, tunnel, and back through tire and hoop. Sonny is fun to watch. Sidney only wanted to do 2 things and be done. Darcy, this cute little dog who is smaller than my cat is an agility superstar. She did everything perfectly and came back to her human.

Finally, we asked Kozmo to do hoop, tire, tunnel. We trusted him off leash. The other human stood between the tire and the tunnel to help capture Kozmo if he decided to act crazy. Kozmo would go through the hoops and run straight to his dad. We moved the other human and tried again. Our trainer said she thinks asking him to do a sequence might be asking a bit much from 9 month old puppy. I love our trainer, she let Kozmo end the class on a very positive note. We did the hoops and he came back for a treat. Then we did the tire and he came back for a treat. Finally he went right through the tunnel and ended class with a big slimy handful of chopped hotdogs and a big hug!!

We were so happy we didn't have to do the weave poles this week. We have one more week of beginning agility. Intermediate agility doesn't start for 6 weeks. We are going to squeeze in another 5 week Canine Good Citizen before agility starts again. I'm hoping with lots of work Kozmo just might be ready to take the Canine Good Citizen exam on June 12. No matter when he takes or passes the test he has come such a long way in four months and we are very proud of Kozmo. Our trainer declared him the most improved dog of the week!

Agility continues

Last night we took Kozmo to agility class. We are determined to quit using his training collar so this was our first class without it. I was a little nervous but our trainer was estatic to see he wasn't wearing his training collar. When we walked into the room an agility course was set up that had a dog walk, pause box, tunnel, 3 jumps and weave poles. Each dog and their handler work on a challenge individually and the other dogs are expected to wait for their turn with their handlers. Remember the other dogs in class are all 3-4 years old. They sit at their owners feet and quietly wait their turn. Waiting our turn is a good opportunity to practice impulse control. The trainer's dog, Bobby, was a gated area next to us. Bobby had a squeaky toy and when Kozmo saw and heard Bobby playing with his squeaky bone I thought Kozmo's head was going to explode. The trainer took the toy from Bobby and tossed it out of the way, under a table.


The first challenge was the dog walk. Below is a photo of some agility equipment to give you a better idea of what Kozmo and I are trying to learn. The dog walk is the bottom middle image. The dog has to walk up a ramp, across a narrow walk, down a ramp, and pause at the end. The first part of this exercise was fairy simple for me, the trainer wanted to work with Kozmo on the dog walk. As usual, Kozmo shows no fear and just walked right up the ramp. He started to get excited and very focused on the treats he was being given. The assistant trainer placed treats every 18" or so and the trainer took Kozmo across the dog walk several times. He did really well and pleased the trainer. Kozmo did so well that the trainer then wanted me to take Kozmo over the dog walk. By this time he was getting excited and he ran across the dog walk, down to the bottom and just kept running. Kozmo ran around the room, to the area that is fenced off, stuck his head through the gate/fence and retrieved the squeaky bone toy Bobby had been playing with and proceeded to run around the room like a lunatic playing with this squeaky toy. This way highly entertaining for every other human in the room but me. Best of all, one of the other dog owners was video taping class. Now Kozmo's stunt is captured on video for ever. Good stuff. Eventually, I got Koz back on his leash and we returned to our seats.

The next exercise was working on 3 jumps in a row and the weave polls. The weave polls are, to me, the most challenging obstacle. To teach your dog to go through the weave polls the human has a million things they have to do perfectly or you send your dog the wrong signal. It's really fun to watch a dog do them well, but it's not like what you see on TV. When you see dogs racing through the weave polls on TV that dog and it's handler have literally spent hundreds of hours working on this one skill. The other 3 dogs in class did well with the jumps and weave. Some of the dogs had trouble doing 3 jumps in a row, but they would all do 2 jumps before they got distracted. Finally it was Kozmo's turn....


Kozmo and I approached the jumps. I sent him over the first jump. He realized he wasn't on a leash and, again, took off racing around the room. This time he went back to the gated area and helped himself to a tug toy. Please keep in mind this is still being recorded. The other human was in the ring to help in the event Komzo had one of his "spells". The other human almost had Koz and then that silly mutt saw the tunnel and decided that he could avoid being caught and having to surrender his new toy if he kept running through the tunnel. Back and forth, back and forth, more laughs, Kozmo is the class clown. Once the beast was back in our control the trainer suggested we do the weave polls to calm Kozmo down. He gets really excited with the jumps and the weave requires more concentration and the dogs tend to calm down. We worked on the weave, and Kozmo has the sloppiest weave in his class, but we did get praise for huge improvement and that Kozmo actually did a good job staying with me. I was glad when our turn was over and I could return to my seat.

The last exercise of class was for each owner and their dog to do the entire course. Start at the dog walk, go to pause table, then tunnel and end with 3 jumps. The pause table is just a square table about a foot off of the ground. You dog just has to stand on the table and pause before going to the next obstacle. In the first image the dog is sitting on a pause table. The other 3 dogs in class did the entire course. A few dogs struggled with the three jumps in a row, but after a few attempts they all did it. Kozmo and I enter the ring, he does the dog walk very well and goes right to the pause box and went through the tunnel. Our trainer only wanted him to do one jump and get a LOT of praise. We did it and Koz came back to me after his one jump, he got a handful of treats and I was ready to go home. The trainer asked us to do it again. I was hoping she meant the jump, of course she meant from the beginning. On our second try we did the dog walk and pause table, on his way to the tunnel Kozmo became distracted and went behind the tunnel. He came out with a bungee cord in his mouth. The bungee cords that are used to keep the tunnel collapsed when its not being used were tucked away in the back of the tunnel. No other dog noticed these, but Koz wanted to play, again. Kozmo was getting tired and getting the bungee from him was fairly easy. We did the course one more time, it wasn't perfect, but we did each obstacle, one jump, he returned to me and we ended with lots of praise.

This week we are going to build weave polls in our back yard and practice, practice, practice. The fun mental image I had of me and my dog running through these obstacles and letting my dog have fun and get tired more work than I ever imagined. Our trainer sees a lot of potential in Koz and we won't give up but, I am tired.

Oh the irony

I have been leaving Kozmo alone for very brief increments and am slowly starting to trust him. This morning he was being good so I took a chance and trusted him to be alone for 3 minutes while I went to the basement to iron my shirt. I came back up to the kitchen and guess what he had in his mouth? A book titled, "Your New Dog for Dummies" with one corner already missing and a mouth full of mushy half chewed paper!! The irony of Kozmo's chosen object of destruction started my day with a good laugh and reminded me that I am the dummy for thinking I could trust a 9 month old puppy!!

Is that my cat?

Poor Kozmo and Sparky. They are such sweet animals and they are stuck with me as their human. I love them more than anything, but face it, I'm not the most responsible human around. Last night I came home from work and found Sparky in his usual window perch. I spent a few minutes loving him before getting Kozmo out of his crate. I took Kozmo outside and then we worked on our obedience commands for about twenty minutes. For the next hour or so Kozmo played with his toys in the office and I was concentrating on some work. As I am  stepping out of the back door to take Kozmo for a walk I see a black cat in my neighbors yard. At first I thought it was a stray and then I asked outloud, "Is that my cat?".

Yes, indeed it was my cat. Poor Sparky, this is only the second time in seven years that he was outside. Some of you may remember Sparky's first back yard experience when Ace "helped" Sparky off of the balcony and into the yard. How on earth could MY cat be in the neighbors yard!?! He is an indoor cat, I saw him when I got home from work. I have no idea how it happened, but somehow Sparky snuck outside while I was had the door open for Kozmo.

As soon as I realized MY cat was in the neighbors yard I started walking very slowly towards Sparky. Sparky can be a bit skiddish in the house, I was terrified he was going to run away from me outside. I was talking to Sparky and he started walking very slowly towards me. I knelt down and called Sparky. I saw a flash of pure love and know that Sparky still loves me despite bringing Kozmo into his life. Sparky ran at full speed right to me and was purring when I picked him up and gave him a great big hug.

Kozmo went for a walk, I voted, and gave Sparky lots of love for the rest of the evening. I'm so glad animals understand unconditional love, otherwise I worry they would hold a grudge at my irresponsibility. From now on we will be closely watching for Sparky trying to sneak outside.

A high strung owner makes a high strung dog

Last night during agility class our trainer told us that Kozmo is going to be awesome, the hard part is training ME! Kozmo knows what to do and has great instincts. I am a disaster. I am high strung by nature and it's obvious in the training ring. I get nervous and my dog responds to that. To further prove this point our trainer took Kozmo through all of the obstacles and he was perfect. She keeps telling us that he is a wonderful dog who is still a puppy and he has all the potential to be an agility super star. I love our trainer, she doesn't mince words. I need to relax, calm down, and trust my dog. If she only knew how I am simply just not hard wired to relax or calm down. I will try for Kozmo's sake.

The funny thing is that before class we took Kozmo to a big field to run and play fetch. We thought if we ran some energy out of him he would do better in class. Turns out I might be the one that needs to get rid of some excess energy before class.

It is so much fun to watch Kozmo go through the agility obstacles with the trainer. Every one in the room agrees that he clearly a happy dog and loves the challenges and being athletic. Last night he tried the A frame for the first time. He has no fear, he just climbed up one side and down the other side. While the trainer was working with me to stand properly, Kozmo just went up an down the A frame on his own. Of course, Kozmo really liked this because he got a big laugh out of the rest of the humans in the room. As much as I hate crowds and performing it is clear that Kozmo is a true people pleaser and will excel at agility.

The weave poles are still a challenge. In Kozmo's defense, it's more my challenge. I don't point my feet the right way, I hold the treats too high, I try to go too fast. We are going to build our own set of weave poles in the back yard and keep practicing.

I got to see Kozmo go through the tire swing. It was so much fun. He also did a variety of jumps. He is clearly getting the hang of agility. His weak spots, other than me, seem to be basic obedience, and the fact that he is 9 months old. The other dogs in his class are 3 and 4 years old. Luckily everyone remembers having puppies. Kozmo has shown great improvement in the two weeks since we started agility.

It's funny, I wanted so badly to do agility with my dog. On TV it looks like so much fun. What I never realized is that it is a tremendous amount of work and is every bit as demanding for the human as the dog. I was so naive to think I just pointed at stuff and it was up to Kozmo. I will keep working as hard as I can to be a good human for Kozmo. Dogs are sure a lot harder than cats. Trying to be a good human for Kozmo is one of the hardest things I've ever done.

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Clean dogs get into trouble

Kozmo has been a very busy dog. I was out of town for four days which left Kozmo alone with his other human. Kozmo and his other human started their long weekend without me by going to agility class together. Apparently Kozmo did well. He started out with two jumps in a row. The tunnel was in the room, but the dogs were supposed to work on the two jumps before adding the tunnel. Kozmo wanted to go through the tunnel and wouldn't stop after the second jump. Finally the trainer allowed him to go through and it sounds like he really had fun doing two jumps and the tunnel in a sequence. The tunnel was stretched out longer with a bend and it didn't phase him. I am so disappointed that I missed Kozmo's first jump through the tire. I can't wait for class this week to see how much he has learned and watch as he tries new obstacles.

Based on my daily updates from the other human it seems that Kozmo did one mischievous thing each of the days I was out of town. One night he backed out of his collar and ran around the neighbors yards for a while until he was corralled back into the house. From what I understand, Kozmo was trying to dig a tunnel to China in our neighbors yard and was distracted enough the larger and stronger other human was able to scoop Kozmo up and carry him back in the house. The next days adventure simply proves that he loves to dig. Kozmo dug all of the dirt out of a pot containing our only houseplant that has survived Sparky.

Finally my trip was coming to an end and as I was driving home I got a photo on my cell phone that showed my sweet Kozmo lying on his bed, ears back, the corner of the love seat, and piles of white stuffing everywhere. Kozmo decided to eat the love seat. The other human was a bit frustrated. I missed Kozmo and he sweet face so much I didn't care. I never really liked that love seat and I stopped watering that stupid plant years ago.

The other human and I only overlapped being at home together for a few hours before he left on a trip. Last night I was in charge of Kozmo. I am happy to report the little angel didn't destroy anything. He was too tired. I took Kozmo on his favorite trail and let him run off leash. A small stream runs along this trail and Kozmo charged right into the water. Kozmo kept running into the water trying to bite at the water. Then he would run into another area and smack his front paws on the water and make a big splash of water and mud. He alternated between playing in the water and running in very fast large circles around me and proudly jumping over logs. Every so often he came charging at me just to wipe a little mud on my legs before continuing on with this very fun, muddy adventure. He had so much fun and we both returned home covered in mud. A tired dog is a good dog.

(The other human will not be pleased to see our white dog turned brown from mud, but I win points for being the fun human with Kozmo!)