Training stuff and job talk

Here are a couple of photos of Chloie's outing with me to the Loyal Biscuit Co. last week. She did great. She was a bit over interested in the store cat but not uncontrollably so. Photos really don't do her justice. She has filled out beautifully.

I have some video of her doing the agility tunnel but I can't get it to upload for some reason. Grrrr. They have noticed that sometimes her curly tail gets stuck going in and it will drag the tunnel if they don't hold it. (the tunnel was donated without tie downs) Tomorrow she is on her way to get spayed. Yeah we dropped the ball somewhere, she should have been before going on the program. She came to us with milk from nursing a litter and I think that threw us off schedule.

We have been working on teaching her to play. She seems to not know what toys are for at all. She did try to play with a broom the other day however and is interested somewhat in gloves and mittens. So we are teaching her fetch right now. Using the techniques off the new Marker Training video we got her to pick up a ball for the first time on Friday. She is a fabulous worker and loves to problem solve. We got her from showing no interest to picking up the ball in just one session. Some dogs would have gotten frustrated and given up before that end point.

I ordered the books "Play with Your Dog" by Pat Miller and "Tales of Two Species" by Patricia McConnell PhD to see if we can get more ideas to use to teach Chloie how to play. With Grizz bringing my dog Jack worked wonders and he figured it out quickly after that. The same method didn't work for Chloie though so we are strategizing.

In other training news I have been offered the possible opportunity to go watch Fred Hassen of Sit Means Sit do some training. He works using electronic collars even for basic obedience. E-collars aren't something I use aside from the occasional client with e-fencing but it is an opportunity to watch a different type of training in person. Education about dog training doesn't stop with only the methods I use after all. If I get to go it should be interesting.

On another front I think I am going to apply for a vet tech job in the area. I saw an ad in the local paper and decided it might be a better fit than the night shift dispatch job I am currently doing. I am worried though because sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know. I like the people I work with, the money is good and the job security is excellent. However the stress level is quite high. Between the job itself, and the fact I'm not 20 anymore trying to adjust my sleep schedule is just adding to that. I'm thinking I might be happier doing something I love instead of doing something for a paycheck. Even though it most likely means a paycut.

Just because I apply doesn't mean I'll get the job. I need to find out more details about it too like the hours involved. I've got to figure out how to continue the prison program with a regular job as well. That is one way the night schedule has worked out well. Since I do private training I can simply schedule clients on my off days or later in the day on work days. We'll see how it pans out.