Rabbits and the Tortoise

Abby and I spent Memorial Day weekend at my parents. Since we last visited three weeks ago, there has been a Bunny Explosion! Due to the hot weather (temps in the 90's!), I made sure Abby and my parent's dog Charlie had an early morning walk. Okay, early morning by my standards which is before 10 am!

Charlie and Abby, December 2007 (?)

On each our morning walks we saw at least six rabbits and bunnies and most of the smaller ones were sitting on the grass and not very aware of their surroundings. The tags on Abby's collar jingle quite a bit, and with two dogs, connected to two leashes and with plastic "Bags on Board"  holders knocking against each other, we weren't sneaking up on anyone.

As mentioned in our last blog post, I like to keep count of the bunnies that I spot vs. those that are spotted by Abby. It was about 50/50 this weekend. Charlie, however, didn't take any notice of the rabbits. Maybe he really does listen to my Dad and does indeed leave the rabbits alone. Armadillos, on the other hand, are a different story and really freak Charlie out and we did not encounter any of them on our walks.

Once Abby realizes that there are rabbits around, her nose is low to the ground and looking in and around bushes. She has a pretty good memory as to where the rabbits were before and focuses in on those spots. Abby is on a 6 foot leash, so she cannot do too much exploring or get deep into the palmetto bushes. I have been warned to stay out of them (and other bushes). If you are lucky, just a few wayward golf balls in there, but there are snakes in the bushes and I am not an expert in herpetology.

I should admit that if Abby does see a bunny, I will let her lunge at it. Not a big lunge, remember she is on a 6 ft. leash, but enough of a one to make the bunny move for cover. Hey, she is a hound dog and should have a bit of fun :).  On our last walk of the weekend, we did encounter a very large turtle, which intrigued Abby almost as much as the rabbits. The turtle was pretty calm and collected in that the presence of two dogs did not send him into his shell. I didn't let Abby lunge at the turtle; I didn't want to find out if it "snapped".

Fortunately, we did not have a repeat of last year's 4th of July incident where Abby did indeed catch (and killed?) a baby bunny. Apparently in a small bush right next to the parking lot and fire hydrant that all the neighborhood dogs piss on, a family of bunnies decided to make a home. I had Abby and Charlie out, and while Charlie was marking the hydrant, Abby stuck her nose under the bush and came out with a brownish/grey thing in her mouth! Yikes. Abby does know the "LEAVE IT" command, and in my shock I was able to tell her to "Leave it". She did! She dropped the bunny.  I took the dogs back in the house and then came back to check on the bunny, but it was gone. Later in the day, there were some ospreys circling around the bush, so I wonder if Abby provided them with a 4th of July feast. For the next three weeks, Abby made a beeline for the bush and kept hoping to flush out another bunny, but I think they wised up and moved out.

As for tricks, Abby is still fetching her dumbbell in the house. We haven't gotten a chance to try it outside. I am also working on her "rear-end awareness". More on that in the next post.

City Walking with my Canine Good Citizen

City walking gives Abby and me a chance to put into practice many things we have learned in our "dog classes", particularly the class prepping us for the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test.

The CGC exam is a series of 10 mini-tests (see link above) that evaluate how your dog reacts to several common situtations including be petted by a friendly stranger, being able to walk nicely on a leash (that is, not drag the human down the road), and do so when there are distractions like kids on bikes or a person in a motorized scooter around. When I have done the  CGC exam with my dogs (my first dog Morgan need three attempts to earn her initials, Abby passed on the first time), it was done at the training facility where we took our classes. Going live on the streets of a major city takes it to a new level.

Walk nicely on a leash for the CGC is defined as having the dog at your left side and walking so that the 6 ft lead (not a flexi-leash) is loose and not taut. The dog does not have to be in "obedience heel" position where the dog is precisely positioned at your left leg / hip as you walk. As long as the dog's head is within arm's reach and the leash is loose (there is a bend or J), that is acceptable. This is pretty much how I usually walk with Abby. I'll let her forge ahead or lag behind so that her hound dog nose can get a full workout. Our daily walks are for fun and exercise, and fun for Abby is sniffing stuff.

However, there are instances when I do have to call Abby to "heel". I use the word "heel" as a noun to describe a position rather than an action. Thus, in our house, "heel" is Abby sitting (or standing) by my left leg  with her shoulders pretty much even with my leg. Other people use "heel" as a verb and as a command for the dog to "stay glued to my left leg and keep your eyes on me" wherever I go.

From the list of CGC tests, these are the ones Abby and I encounter the most:

• Walking through a crowd (#5)
• Reaction to another dog (#8)
• Reaction to distraction (#9)

The crowds that we encounter share the sidewalk with us. These include people waiting at bus stops, walking with their groceries or other shopping treasures, families with strollers and plenty of clueless people yakking on their cell phones paying no attention to their surroundings.  There are also a lot of restaurants with outdoor seating in our neighborhood, so people dining al fresco with tasty food also attract Abby's attention. In these spots and at bus stops, the sidewalk often narrows such that I do call Abby to heel and ask for a few moments of controlled walking by my side.

I am fortunate that Abby doesn't react to other dogs, and we do meet several each night on our walk. She does show interest, but if I give a "with me" or "leave it" cue, Abby will, for the most part, keep walking by my side and just give the other dog a passing glance. It also helps if I have remembered to bring the treats and can instantly reward her for giving her attention to me rather than the other dog (or people).  This meeting a friendly dog exercise in the CGC test was the one that gave my first dog Morgan the most trouble and why it took us 3 tries to pass.

Distractions are plentiful on the streets of Miami. Cars running red lights. People honking their car horns all the time. Bicyclists. Trash, especially from the fast food restaurants, which means the possibility of finding a half eaten roll (GROSS!). Again the "with me" and "leave it" commands are the ones to let Abby know she needs to pay attention to me. There are a few spots where there are elevated planters with densely packed bushes. These planters are right at Abby's nose level when she is standing erect, thus making it very easy for her to "survey" for such trash. If she had her way, she would methodically search under the bushes inch-by-inch! I try to remember to walk on the other side of the street. Saying "leave it" continuously for three city blocks is not fun.

Finally, there are the intersections. I would like Abby to have a nice "auto sit" in that if I stop moving, she automatically sits. We are working on this in the apartment, and the apartment hallways. I would also be very happy if Abby would "sit on command" even with all the above distractions and obstacles. However, her "sit on command" in these situations is 30/70, rising up to 50/50 if I have good treats. At the intersections, there is too much going on, and if I do ask her to sit and actually want some hope that she will do it, I really do need to have eye contact before I give the sit command. At intersections, I do use food as a lure to try and get Abby to sit, but it doesn't work every time.

On the bright side, Abby does have an AWESOME "wait". As we are walking along, I can say "wait" and Abby will stop moving. Yes, she is standing (not sitting), but the key thing is that she has stopped moving. This has been invaluable when we come across someone on bicycle, a jogger, or fast walking people approaching from the opposite direction. Of course, it is very important at street corners while we are waiting for light to change so that we can cross the street.

Not quite as good as a "sit", but "wait" accomplishes my goal: having Abby be still until it is safe for us to proceed forward. 

I often wonder if Abby longs for the walks we had while living in Indiana. The subdivisions in the neighborhood there were loaded with rabbits. We would play "I Spy a Bunny" and I would try to keep track of who found the bunnies first. When Abby got a rabbit in her sight, she would stop moving, stare, have her front paw come up and bend, like this beagle below. Sometimes, Abby would do her version of a "bay" which was more like a "Aaaaarrrfff"than an "Aaarrrr-ooo". Some nights the rabbit count hit double digits. 

No bunnies here. When we go visit my parents on the gulf coast of FL, we might see a bunny or two in their neighborhood. I guess the other native critters in my parents' community (alligators, bobcats, and the occasional coyote) keep the rabbit population in check.