Sunday Salutations and the Right Treat

This week is about the search for the right treat and a happy (belated) lunar New Year!

What is the treat that picks you up when you are feeling down?

Yesterday, was a rally class that reminded me why I shouldn’t let work stress and general life stress get me down. “Why?” you ask. Because I have the goofiest puppy-bear* ever!

*puppy-bear is a term I started using for our Newfie Crokell, because I am still waiting for a puppy-puppy. (AKA, I want a second “real” dog too.)

Crokell and I have been taking a rally course class. I am hoping to enter him in his first rally competition sometime this year. (Maybe March, but we will see.) I have been coming up with ways to practice with him to get him ready for an actual competition. We have been trying to wean him off treats for this because you cannot use them in ring, but I also need to work on him performing on point. And sadly, those treats and being on point are interwoven.

So, the plan for yesterday’s first run, I was planning to be the on point, high treat practice. Then for the second run, I was going to try for a pay off at the end only.

But Crokell had other plans.

The Non-Cheese Run

The first run was a spectacular failure. Crokell wasn’t aware that I existed. He wasn’t distracted by any one person or thing. He was just looking at anything.

Actually, that wasn’t even the first attempt at the first run. I got up to the start and Crokell was so “not there” I let someone else go first, while I worked on “waking him up”.

About one minute into the run, he sort of wakes up. When he sits and I walk around him, notice how he watches me the entire time. And he’s kind of bouncy walking around after that.

After the run, one of the other trainers asked if I had ever tried to use cheese with Crokell. And I was like no, we don’t use people food, although he’s had the freeze dried cheese treats. We don’t even have any cow milk cheese at home since I’m lactose intolerant.

But I was game to try because Crokell wasn’t really paying attention.

Lo and behold the Phyllis Cheese Run went according to plan.

Phyllis CHEESE Run

Now, before you run to HEB or Aldi and start looking for Phyllis Cheese, let me warn you. There is no such thing as Phyllis Cheese. Phyllis is the very helpful trainer who gave us the idea and the cheese. It’s just all-natural white stick cheese.

See the difference between those runs (besides the signs) is pretty obvious. In the second run, the only things that existed for Crokell were me and the treats.

Finding the right treat helped. You might even say it was essential. I have a new on point treat. (I hope. It’s either that or I need a new treat each weekend.) I also really need to work on my energy. I was very tired for these as I have not been sleeping well.

I think it is extra hard when I am tired and Crokell feeds on my moods. Somehow, I will find a way to sleep like a normal person. If only Crokell’s sleep counted towards mine.

Future Runs

So, the fixes I plan besides trying to sleep and be perky?

1. Wake him up earlier. He was kenneled and not doing much until right before the run.

2. Right before a run, do something that stirs him up and focuses him on me — play tug? I am not sure.

3. Do more focus games at home every day. (These are where he focuses on me, not treats or something else. We actually do these a lot, and he’s usually incredible at them.)

4. More distraction games. I might need to practice in front of the dog park and such again.

5. And of course, we are going to practice being on point with some higher value treats (cheese) only in the practice ring.

Grateful

Other than that, I cannot be more grateful for my family and friends.

This last Friday was nice. And I felt more supported than I have in a long time.

Plus, Friday my sister waited for me for over an hour so she could drive me home instead of having me take an Uber back from work. It was so sweet and unexpected. I did realize through that I am not grateful enough for the everyday kindness and care from my family and friends. For my sister, we bought her dinner and such. I need to thank her more often for the rides and the assistance.

And for Tod, I am eternally grateful for having him in my life as a writer and champion.

That is something to focus on for the new lunar year.

Happy Belated Lunar New year!

Phrase of the Week

And before we leave, the Phrase of the Week is Exponential Decay.

Again, “Why?” you ask.

Because I used it in a long essay email to a writer mentor/friend, and then a completely different science friend/mentor used it when emailing me. He used the same term for a completely different conversion. I love my mentor/friends.

Oh, for the record, exponential decay is when something decays over time in proportion to how much of it there is. The more there is, the faster it decays. The less there is, the slower it decays. Things that have exponential decay are radioactive materials, drug metabolism, population decline, depreciation of assets, and the real value of money decaying due to inflation.

So, it’s a pretty useful term.

Anna (and Tod)