Nice Doggies?

It's been a while so let me catch up- first of all- it's been snowing in NYC. Don't love it. Sometimes it gets all caught up in my paws and I start hopping until fosterpop notices and sorts it out. Secondly- see that contraption on my face- its called a Snoot Loop. Don't love it. However- I have got quite used to it after many weeks of desensitization- the payoff is- we get to walk in Central Park. That's where we are in the video - somewhere in central park, where there's a lot of snow, I have my snoot loop on and I'm looking at a couple of dogs hanging out a short distance away.

There are a lot of dogs in Central Park and sometimes- they're like -right there, not disappearing behind a parked car. Sometimes one after the other. Sometimes we walk alongside one a distance away or follow one. Don't love it. Sometimes we stop just to watch them and fosterpops does his whole 'aren't they nice doggies?' thing, which I'm not really buying, just yet. But I'm not losing my cool either about it- just a little whimpering and I'm even starting to look at fosterpops (very occasionally) when I see a dog which gets a big YESS!and the jackpot treats. I do love going to the park- when the sherpa comes out- I hop right in but those 'nice doggies', not so much.

Walking in the Rain

Walking in the rain may be, to most creatures nothing to write home about but for a French Bulldog, its a mutant power, and I have this super power. Witness, me this morning taking my usual full length walk in a light drizzle. For most frenchies, this would probably elicit a 'there's acid burning my flesh, take me back inside' mad scramble. Not me, in fact I can walk in a sudden downpour and even take care of business on a rainy day unlike the legions of frenchies that won't even step out the door in bad weather. And look- how loose is that leash, can it get any looser?

Bring It

And drop it. That's what we are working on in the video. I'm a bit of a resource guarder wait, who am I kidding- I'm a big time resource guarder. Even with low value things I'm less likely to give them up, but with this training, I'm finding a double reward- not just the treat for dropping but there's game thing that happens- called fetch that I'm also kind of digging. Sometimes it's not just treats- I run back and there's a brand new toy, fresh out of the toy drawer in fosterpop's hand that I am totally cool about dropping the old toy for.

Nobody's Perfect

So Humphries is going to be a 'Good Dog' at the training seminar that my trainer Jenny is presenting, about French Bulldog behavior. OK, I'll admit he's pretty easy to get along with but he's not without a couple of foibles. Like the heavy duty leash pulling caught on film above. Oh, and what's that stuck on your lip there buddy- a leaf? That's on the 'you can sniff but do not eat' list dude. Busted. Nobody's perfect.

Autumn in New York

It gets dark earlier, it's been getting cooler, there's been lots of rain. On our walks I have to hop over puddles and I sniff leaves on the pavement that are the color of my ears. It's Autumn in New York and I'm mellowing along with it. I get a good boy at the end of the video because I just slowed down at a crossing. I'm doing better with dogs on the street- I can look at them and move on if they are across the street - that's it, no closer. And I can do about 4 or 5, no more. I'm mellowing, but slowly.

Sitting, Patiently

Patience is also a form of action. ~ Auguste Rodin

I've been working on my sits. I don't just sit now, I have to sit, patiently. Here I am sitting, waiting while fosterpops does his thing prior to a morning walk. He has to go get my treats from the fridge, poop bags, his shoulder bag, put on his shoes, grab his keys. Sometimes he's in the kitchen forever because he's cutting up treats or he's looking for bags. Sometimes he walks back to the bedroom because he forgot to turn the air conditioning off. Sometimes he goes to his computer to check the weather. Sometimes he fusses about what he wants to wear. There's always something. Meanwhile I sit waiting. Patiently.

Sugar Hill Morning

We usually walk up on Sugar Hill in the mornings. Its a route that is 10 blocks long overlooking a park, and you can see almost all the way along it. On a sunday morning, its practically empty and we walk the 10 blocks and turn around and come back hardly seeing anyone but a couple of park attendants. Yup, there's some new nuances to my leash walking- I do a little bit of the looking around and checking on what fosterpops is doing which gets a lot of 'good boys' and treats. I'm getting better and better at this. Things can get a little unsettled if I see a dog or too many in a row and I forget myself and start racing ahead but I can get back more quickly now into a normal stride.

Zen Moment

When I had my evaluation and fosterpops told my trainer Jenny that we were walking 4 miles a day, she said,'try more'. So we now walk 30 blocks in the morning and 30 in the evening- that's about 6 miles a day. The scientists say physical exercise causes the body to release beta-endorphins, enhances noradrenergic activity (increasing the production of noradrenaline) and increases serotonin metabolism in the brain.What does this mean? It means I am extremely chill these days. Here I am about half an hour away from my evening walk and I'm totally having a zen moment.

Oh it's You

I see a dog. I smell a dog. We're walking straight towards it and fosterpops just lets me steam right ahead. What? Fosterpops does his 'jolly' voice. Oh it's Humphries. No big deal. We walk back to their house and I play with him and Bella - it's our weekly playdate. There's talk of us coming over just to meet Humphries outside again mid week to get me used to the idea that dogs on the street aren't all bad.

Table Manners

I've learnt some nice table manners. I wait on my bed till dinner is served. Then I go into a down position and wait until I get the ok. I do the down thing without asking now and I make sure to wait. Last week I lost my head a little ( I was hungry) and didn't wait for the ok. Lawd. Everything went back into the kitchen and we started over in s.l.o.w motion and I had to wait even longer. I do drool a little while waiting which, although unacceptable by human standards- fosterpops says its perfectly fine for a french bulldog and he takes it as a compliment to the chef. Licking the plate clean is also fine.

Playdate

Had another playdate with my old foster buddies Humphrey and Bella and it was a lot of fun. It was bewildering to fosterpops how well we got along, we exchanged bones, took turns in chewing them, no snarkiness, no possessiveness- just good natured romping around. OK there was a tiny bit of humping. So I can still get along really well with some dogs- just not all dogs, yet. He says this is going to be a regular weekly playdate as I seem to be a little better on the street the next day. Yay.

Motivated

The things I will do for 4 little slices of banana stuffed in a kong. Fosterpops is tricky, he's discovered my achilles heel is novelty. I don't just like Mackerel treats like we had 3 days ago or the Beef and Liver ones that we had today. He knows, to get me motivated, I like - change. He'll mix it up, slices of Banana here, a little cheese there. The other night while we were practising responding to my name at home, I got licks out of a small bowl with ice cold kefir. Delicious. It was all over my nose, I loved it. When he comes out of the kitchen I'm like where do you want me -sitting? in the crate? on my bed?- no problem. When we are outside, I can get a little more particular. Sometimes I get so verklempt by those dogs that just come out of nowhere, I actually refuse a treat. But that's happening less- its' hard to say no to the new flavors and I'm kinda getting a little less worked up.

Keeping it Loose

I'm a puller- in transition. I used to be a surging ahead maniac. I get it now, I speed up, fosterpops slows down and even stops and (I hate this) we may even go back the other way and start over. And then there's the "hey Revo, look!". Over and over. Just as I am getting all hopped up about some crazy cat scuttling under a car. Wait, where was I, what, huh? - it just messes with my concentration. I guess that's the point. The good news is, I enjoy our long walks and the extra treats are sweet. Am I completely reformed- no. Is there still a lot of slowing down and verbal direction like 'easy'- yes. Is it getting better and better every day? Oh yeah, I'm keeping it loose, most of the time.

The Shriek

I had my evaluation by my trainer Jenny. The good news is that I'm really great at home, very friendly to visitors and people in general. Even better news is that we went to visit Humpries and Bella who I used to live with at my previous foster home - and it was great. I was very well behaved and had fun with my old buddies.

Not so great was my reaction to dogs on the street. Jenny watched how I responded to a few different ones carefully managing the situation, tried a few different things and finally she let me ahem just let it all out with this one dog just to see what I would do. As you can see, I got some operatic chops.

But that was over a week ago, and things have progressed a lot, I'll keep you posted all about that- the video above- that's going to be the old Revo. There's a new Revo that's working hard and long to be less of a hot head. In fact today I looked at a pit bull across the street and I just did like a tiny little whine. I get treats for keeping my cool- which is cool.

My First Week

Back in the big apple. Sadly, my adoption didn't work out. After a quiet low key week, I am adjusting well. Fosterpops works from home so there's lots of company and we take two long walks a day. We're working on stuff. I learnt how to a 'down' and getting all riled up about a squirrel is apparently not ok which somehow ends up with me doing a sit. I get lots of treats for doing this so its a fair trade. That's it for now, have to go take a nap.