Tuesday Topics 5 - Guide Dog Whisperer?

One of my favorite TV shows is The Dog Whisperer. I started watching it right after Cabana came to our home, and I don't know what I would have done without Cesar Millan! The Guide Dog manual talks briefly about being a pack leader, but I don't think I would have fully understood that concept if I hadn't watched The Dog Whisperer. I think I've seen every episode now, but every few days, I gotta have my Dog Whisperer fix. It helps remind me to be assertive with Cabana, instead of getting lax and letting unwanted behaviors go unaddressed.

I completely espouse Cesar's dictum of exercise, discipline, then affection. Dogs need an effective, controlled way to drain their energy, which is why I make walking Cabana in the morning one of my top priorities, rain or shine. We also learned to minimize affection first thing in the morning, when Cabana tends to be very excitable (she's well rested, hasn't seen us since the night before, and is waiting for breakfast). By not giving affection when Cabana is in an excited state, we have helped her learn to control her excitement in the morning and be much calmer. Now, the period of time when we withhold petting her is getting shorter and shorter, because she's learning to calm down much more quickly.

Still, I know that The Dog Whisperer is not necessarily "Guide Dog approved", so I wondered what other puppy raisers think about his methods. Are you a fan or do you think it's hooey? Do you like certain things he teaches but think that other parts are flat-out wrong? Do you like his rollerblades or do you think they're weird?

Designing a Steampunk Spaceman's Helmet

Today, Sunday, my wife and I went to some yard sales. Now sometimes you find nothing, and other times you find one gem. Just as we were about to leave one sale emptyhanded, I spotted a plastic astronaut's helmet. When I inquired about the price, the seller said $1--uh, 50¢--fearing I wouldn't cough up a whole dollar for this plastic helmet that was missing the visor. Of course, I saw much more in it. I knew I could pull a pattern off of it and remake it as a steampunk leather helmet!

Here is the plastic helmet as I bought it.

After thinking about how to break it up into separate leather pieces, I taped it all over with duct tape to make the patterns, and marked the divisions.

Here I've cut off the duct tape using an Xacto knife, and laid it down on heavy paper.

Next I've smoothed out the lines, removed the duct tape, and cut out the heavy paper patterns.

Next using the patterns I cut out the leather pieces, and punched the stitching holes, along with snap and buckle holes. I am leaving the front piece that covers the mouth removable so that the wearer can take it off for eating, etc.

Here I've stitched together the left center piece and the left side piece to see if it will work. I used a seam that exposes the edges, but after seeing it I think I'll remove the thread and do it over with an overlapping seam so that it will lie flat.

I will post more later as I progress on this project.

Flea Market Raygun Finds

Twas a beautiful Spring day, and I went to a local flea market searching for raygun components. Here is what I found.




From top to bottom: A toy cap pistol with good metal parts and a very crude wooden handle; a timing light, all shiney chrome; and an old water sprayer. With a little bit of fixing up and love, these can be made into rayguns. The top one will make a nice air pirate pistol, and the timing light will make a nice futuristic firearm.

Five New Leather Masks

I have designed five new cut out masks for Spring 2009, and I'm selling them all at my Etsy shop for $10 off the regular price. I'm offering them all in several colors.
This is called cut out Fans in gold. It has a bit of an ancient Egyptian look to me.

This one is called cut out Hearts in red.

This one as you might guess is called cut out Stars in silver.

This one I've called cut out Totem, as it looks organic yet mystical to me at the same time.

And lastly, and this one is my current favorite, we have Muse, because it reminds me of ancient Greece.

Picture Me

Thanks to those who have complimented my new header. Initially, I had included myself in the illustration as well, but I just couldn't get the "me" part quite right. Here's what the illustration looked like with me in it.


But I look like I'm about 12 years old (which is 32 years too young--I know you're doing the math). I even gave myself laugh lines and crows feet, which my daughters kindly told me to take out, but which, wanting to be accurate, I left in (along with my unfortunate freckles).

Also, with me in the picture, I'd have to make Cabana even smaller. Then, no one would be able to see how accurately I depicted her Guide Dog jacket--the part of the illustration I like best. So, I ix-nayed myself.

The illustration was done with Adobe Illustrator, and the header image extends past the double border lines to make it look like Cabana is popping out beyond the header. I mimicked the colors from my blog template to make it look like it's part of the original template--but it's actually an uploaded jpg. If you right-click on my header, then go to View Image, you'll see what I mean.

Books I Recommend

A couple months before the idea of getting a Guide Dog puppy ever even crossed my mind, I happened to read two books that later influenced me greatly in that decision. Both books were just random selections that happened to be available by downloadable audio on our public library's website. (I rarely "read" a book because I like to multi-task. I prefer to listen to books on MP3 while I'm driving, running, or working, thus accomplishing two things at once.)

The first is called Crashing Through, by Robert Kurson. It's the true life story of a man named Mike May, who was blinded at age 3. Although completely blind, there was almost nothing this man couldn't do. He rode bicycles, went downhill skiing, even tried driving a car, and worked for the CIA. Then, 43 years later, surgery was able to restore his sight. It was remarkable to read about how being given sight was not the same as knowing how to see. His eyes worked, but his brain wasn't always able to interpret what he was seeing into things he could comprehend. This book gave me a keen interest and insight into those dealing with issues of blindness.


The second book is called Merle's Door, by Ted Kerasote, about the author's experiences with a dog he finds while on a camping trip in Wyoming. Merle, the dog, is a Labrador mix, and they form an instantaneous bond with each other. The author does tend to humanize Merle quite a bit, giving great meaning to the dog's every gesture. The author is also a big fan of letting his dog live off-leash and wander around their neighborhood at will (although they do live in a rural area), despite leash laws. But the book showed how strong and meaningful a relationship between dog and owner can be. Let me warn you, though--it's a tear jerker.

Having never had a dog as an adult and unsure whether we wanted to make a 10+ year commitment to a dog, getting a Guide Dog puppy for a year or so seemed like a great way to get our feet wet. It was a very good decision. Guide Dogs for the Blind gives us such tremendous information and instruction, and without that, I don't think we would have been successful pet owners. Of course, my goal now is to have Cabana become a working Guide Dog--but whatever happens, whether Cabana makes it as a Guide Dog or becomes a wonderful pet, I know I have been changed, for good.

Big Girl Collar

Cabana got a lot of big girl upgrades yesterday! She went from a small crate to a medium--this was probably a couple weeks overdue. Now she can really stretch out and luxuriate.

And she also graduated to her big girl collar AND a training collar! Whoopee! The big girl collar is still a bit loose--but probably not for long.

I took Cabana for a walk this morning with the training collar--the first time she hasn't had her head collar on in months. She went somewhat crazy with the new freedom, trying to pick up and eat every little thing on the sidewalk. I could tell that her attitude was like, "Wow! This is so awesome!" But after being corrected with the training collar about 20 times, she got a bit ornery and had another one of her episodes.

After we worked through that little period of adjustment, though, I think the training collar was the best invention since sliced bread. Or maybe even chocolate cake. Cabana heeled so angelically! What a thing of beauty--just like Cabana herself.

Tuesday Topics 4 - Prohibit or Play Date?

Thanks to everyone for making Tuesday Topics so well received. My little blog gets the most hits on Tuesdays, so keep the comments coming! I always learn a lot from the other puppy raisers, and hopefully, other folks out there are benefitting as well.

My bosses (who are married to each other) have three dogs. The office is at their house, so Cabana gets to see these dogs a couple times a week (I work from my own home the other days). Here's Lily, a French bulldog. She's a chubby little thing, but she's the unequivocal queen of the compound.

The other dogs are Leo, the English terrier, and Olive, the boxer. Leo is a jittery nervous fellow almost all the time, whether Cabana is around or not. But Olive and Cabana are great friends. Closer in size (more so every day), they love to romp around with each other.

Cabana knows it's their house and not hers, and especially because Lily tends to growl and get her hackles up (the little ones gotta show their superiority somehow), Cabana does a great job of being submissive. She calmly lets the other dogs sniff her, and if Lily is in a particularly ornery mood, Cabana goes and sits quietly in a corner (that's how the Still Life with Dog photo came about).

Here they are, out playing by the pool. In the top photo, you can actually see Cabana's jowls flying upward. They're all moving pretty fast!



Here's my question. How much do I control Cabana's play with these dogs? Should I just let Cabana be a dog, or do I need to keep her under control, as a PIT? In the photos above, I did let Cabana romp around the pool with the other dogs, but under very close supervision and only for a few minutes. I get nervous about letting her do too much.

Also, these dogs lack manners--they're not like career changed dogs who've been trained. My bosses' dogs bark a lot, jump all over you, sit on the couch, have food available in their dishes all day, and run around loose in their 5-acre "yard". Are puppies like kids, where you want to keep them away from dogs that might be bad influences on them? Not that I can keep Cabana away from them entirely, since that is where I work, and it is their (the other dogs') house. I can't very well tell my bosses to keep their dogs away from mine.

Since we don't have any other dogs at home, these are the only dogs that Cabana is allowed to play with. And I'd hate to take that away from her. She loves going to the office with me and can barely wait to get out of the car when we drive up. But I also wonder if it sets her up for confusion and disappointment when she can't play with the other dogs at our puppy training group, which is always a big challenge for her (she's just so happy to see the other guide dog puppies and can't contain herself). It's a quandary!

A Visit to Guide Dogs' Campus

So this morning, having everything better to do with my time, I decided to play hooky from all the projects I should have been working on. And I drove to the GDB campus for a tour. I had only been there once before for a graduation. Cabana and I were the only ones there for the tour today, so we got our own private one! Thanks to Brian, our excellent tour guide, pictured below.


Here's some pics of a puppy socialization outing on the grounds. This pup has petals stuck to her nose!! She reminds me of someone wearing a fake mustache.



Photos of pups in the kennels. Such cuties!



Recalled dogs in the kennels.

Pups at playtime with volunteers. The collie is Pearl, who helps socialize the puppies. She's gorgeous!



And Cabana in front of the puppy truck.

This is the only time she sat calmly for the whole hour. She was totally hyped up (i.e. pulling on her leash non-stop), being so close to all those puppy pals. Now she's snoozing on the floor, absolutely exhausted. Hopefully, being around the kennels a bit will help prepare her for recall (fingers crossed). I might take her to the campus every few months--I hate to think of her being scared there, and I'm hoping being there previously will help at least a little bit.

The Other Side of the Revolutions

After my recent visit to Basildon Park and seeing the exhibition for the "Pride and Prejudice" filmshoot, I reflected on my trip to Jane Austen's home in Chawton last year. Chawton is a picture postcard village and the Austen connection will doubtless ensure that it stays unaltered for a very long time to come.
 
But of course the outward shell of the buildings does not reflect the multiple social revolutions within the walls. As I toured the upper floor of the Austin house, I heard horses' hooves outside. Sure enough, there was a pair of well groomed animals, with their equally well groomed riders, walking at a relaxed pace down the one street of Chawton. No need to rush; after all, this was Sunday and these were animals kept as an expensive hobby.
 
In Jane's time, there would have been plenty of horses around, but as essential working beasts, supporting everything from farm work to deliveries of essential products to transporting people locally or nationally. The only horsepower used by most Chawton people today is the 200 bhp under the hoods of their BMWs as they set off for well paid jobs in the Thames Valley or up the M3 motorway to London.
 
As I came out of the Austin house, I heard the unmistakeable and very rare sound of a steam locomotive. The last steam locomotive ran on British Rail in 1968.  Of course - it was the preserved railway which runs behind the row of trees near the house. Again, a form of transport which was the backbone of the Industrial Revolution for over a hundred years is now a tourist curiosity. The famous "Watercress Line" starts at Alton, less than two miles north-east of Chawton. Alton is a little gem of a historic English town, as much as Chawton is a little gem of a village. Appropriately, Alton station is both the terminus of the Watercress Line and the terminus of the real present day trains which carry commuters to London.
 
Jane Austen's life finished shortly before the railway revolution started in the 1820s in England. No wonder such a famous person traveled only short distances in her lifetime, as I noted in a previous blog entry. Before the railways, any long distance travel was laborious, expensive, time consuming, uncomfortable and often downright dangerous. Period films hardly convey the problems; the immaculately polished carriages and impeccably presented horses are covered by present day Health And Safety laws and legislation forbidding cruelty to animals.
 
The Railway Revolution was only one of multiple revolutions which separate us from Jane. The Industrial Revolution of which it was an integral part is obviously another. The social and sexual revolutions within Chawton are less visible than the flat screen TVs and the broadband internet links within the historic houses or the BMWs in the driveways. But they are longer lasting and more deeply felt than the ephemeral technologies around us.
 
Watching the glossy, but unsatisfying 2005 version of "Pride and Prejudice", some of the aspects of the social revolution are far more startling than the beautiful houses and costumes. The interesting, but inadequate "additional material" on the DVD outlined some of the aspects of social attitudes underpinning British high society of the time. Obviously the kind of potential husband with an income of five or ten thousand pounds a year was part of a very, very tiny minority of the British population. Yet a procession of such desirable beaus was paraded across the screen.
 
Most telling was the position of clergymen. It is almost unimaginable now, but in Jane's time a clergyman held one of the most lucrative and desirable professions in the land - comparable to a very high powered lawyer or City trader today. This is evident in the reference to one character getting eyewatering compensation for losing out on preferment for a parish. The power and wealth of the ordinary clergy was a direct reflection of the national power and wealth of the established Church.
 
Almost as revealing are the courtesies and behaviors between the sexes - with the young ladies bowing automatically before any gentleman and the care taken over the reputations of the ladies. It was not merely bad being "damaged goods", as Elizabeth's youngest sister threatens to become as she elopes to London. Being related to the damaged goods would be social disaster and spell the end to any hopes of a respectable marriage.
 
The discretion exercised between a potential "couple" rang a distinct bell. Of course - all that old Catholic teaching about "avoiding the occasions of sin". You should not just avoid sin, but any circumstances likely to lead you to sin. No doubt Jane Austen and all her characters would have been horrified at any insinuation of Popery, but here they were, taking traditional Christian precautions, ensuring that a young man and woman should not even have a private conversation by themselves and that they behaved with the utmost decorum.
 
Even the present day actors portraying these characters could see some of the advantages of such rules; people knew where they stood, how they should behave and how to interpret the almost invisible signals given by the opposite sex. Not much scope for the present day excuses of "I though she meant Yes, Your Honour".
 
So here we are after 200 years of English revolutions far more radical than either the French or Russian variety. As Dr Johnson so truly remarked, no sensible man would pay a guinea to live under one form of government rather than another. Jane could hardly have comprehended our present day technologies, beyond anything imagined by the most visionary science fiction writers of her time. But she might have written an even more devastating satire on present day sexual behavior - "Nonsense and Insensibility" perhaps?
 

Still Life with Dog

Before I even met Cabana for the first time, I had already HEARD her. I was in the waiting room backstage at the GDB Holiday Luncheon, and she was with all the other puppies in the puppy holding area outside. The whole time we were waiting for our turn on stage (quite a long time), the other puppy raisers and I could hear one dog, barking insistently...loudly...untiringly. I knew we were all thinking the same thing--"I hope that's not the puppy I'm bringing home." Well, that barker turned out to be Cabana.

For the first two weeks, Cabana barked quite a lot. She barked at bedtime when we put her in her crate, she barked when she needed to go potty, she barked at other dogs, and she barked for no reason at all. But since that time, Cabana has learned not to vocalize that way. For the past 2 months, although she does sometimes whine or make other small sounds, she has honestly not barked once.

Until tonight.

Our family's schedule is very routine and punctual. For the most part, we get up, eat our meals, go to work/school, get home from work/school, at about the same time every day. (Yes, we're boring.) We eat dinner around 6:00, then my husband does the dishes (yes, he's a good husband). After he does the dishes, he gives Cabana her dinner, and she does her happy dance.

But tonight, my husband was watching the NCAA tournament after dinner, intending to do the dishes a little later. Cabana got her little nose bent out of shape, came over to me, and started whining--"where's my dinner, Mom?" I told her to stop, and she did.

At 6:30, her regular dinner time, since my husband was still watching the game, I got up to get dinner for her. While I was getting her food ready, she BARKED at me--LOUDLY! Just one bark. I reprimanded her for it--but I was shocked! I hadn't heard that sound for months, and it kind of amazed me!

Hopefully, the barking won't continue. But it did make me wonder if Cabana is a dog that likes routine anyway--or if that's a result of our family's pattern. I wonder if she will need to be with a person who also has a regular routine, or if she would just as easily adapt to a person with a crazy schedule.

The photo above was taken at my bosses' house (which is also where I work--in the studio above their garage). Cabana was sitting so peacefully in the alcove, and her coat matched so well with the light wood colors. Very feng shui! (Click on it to view larger--it's such a pretty picture!)

St. Patrick's Day Meeting

Here's a photo of our local puppy raising group. What a fantastic and fabulous ensemble of humans and canines! (Cabana is to the far right with my husband.) Last night, we met at an outlet mall and had a bit of a hodge podge of St. Patrick's Day/Easter festivities. We got plastic Easter eggs with notes inside, kind of like a fortune cookie (can we throw some Chinese New Year into the holiday mix, too?). The notes took us to different stations, where we would have our puppies perform a certain behaviors.

Cabana did great on her sit-stay-come egg. She had to stay for a count of 25, which is a long time. I tried not to count too fast--don't want to go too easy on her! She sat like a statue, A+!

Unfortunately, Cabana didn't do so well with properly greeting another dog. She never even got to greet the other dog because her behavior leading up to it was horrific. But not surprising, based on yesterday's post regarding her big dog distraction issues!

And there's my segue. I enjoyed reading everyone's comments from my Tuesday Topic post--thanks for your input. As a first time raiser with almost zero dog experience of any kind, I can't tell you how helpful it is to get others' feedback. I was very grateful for the reminders of how young Cabana is (thanks, Lisa and Megan!). Again, since I have no other experiences for comparison, it's good to know that she's going to get it eventually (fingers crossed), and that her behavior falls in the spectrum of normalcy.

I will definitely keep working on getting Cabana to focus on me as people go by. By summertime, when people will be out walking by the dozens, maybe I'll even be able to enjoy seeing other folks and their dogs!

Here's the handsome Accord in his Irish hat (above). He looks thrilled to be wearing it, doesn't he?

And now it's Hamlin's turn. Also thrilled.

And finally, the fashion plate herself, Miss Cabana!

Designing a New Leather Mask

Spring is almost upon us, and leather mask sales should pick up as buyers think about what they're going to wear at music festivals. Above is my first sketch of an idea for a new mask, consisting of a whole bunch of cut out hearts. I drew this right before turning out the lights for bed. The star means I think it's a good design.

This is the next sketch the following day, seeing how it would work to have the eye openings be larger hearts, with other hearts around it. In designing a mask, the eye openings are critical.

Here I have fleshed out the idea, and after penciling in all the hearts on one half of the face, I have inked them in. Next I scanned this image and brought it into Corel Draw, where I fine-tuned it and mirrored it for the other half of the face.

And here is the finished mask, after cutting out the pattern in leather, shaping it to my face form, and painting it red. Lastly, I've listed it the Cut Out Hearts mask on Etsy, where I hope it will quickly sell!

Tuesday Topics 3 - How to Deal with Dog Distraction

I like how Cabana's tail fur goes into a little spin at the end. Hey, is that what a tailspin is?

But wait, that's not my Tuesday Topic question. Here it is.

Cabana's biggest obstacle to good behavior is dog distraction. She is fairly good on the leash when no one else is around, but when there are other people, especially with their dogs--and especially with their dogs OFF-LEASH (my biggest pet peeve in the world)...then it's difficult to keep Cabana under control.

I do what I can to minimize distractions. I only walk the pretty, popular walking paths on rainy or overcast days and avoid them when it's sunny because I know everyone and their uncles will be there. On nice days, I walk on busier streets where people are less inclined to allow their dogs off-leash. Or on weekends, I try to go extra early, before the sleep-in types get their butts in gear.

When people/dogs are approaching, even at quite a distance away, Cabana goes into alert mode, walking briskly with her head and ears raised up, and the pulling begins. Then, when the person passes, she will often try to jump on them. Sometimes, after the person passes, she still has that residual excitement and keeps turning to look at them or jumps around or even tries to bite her leash. Sometimes, it makes her plain ornery, like she's telling me, "You always spoil my fun." As a mom, I've definitely heard THAT before!

I try to be ready when this is happening. To get Cabana focused on me, I talk to her, call her name, have a treat ready to give her, hold her leash/head collar down so she can't jump....It all helps, but it's a lot of effort. I guess that's why I'd rather avoid people than go through it a bazillion times each day.

Really, it comes down to the fact that I don't really know what I'm doing, doesn't it? What am I doing wrong? Exactly when should I give the treat? At what exact moment do I give a correction? And (insert whiney voice) when is it going to get better?!?

Oh, The Blood and The Guilt

Most likely, all puppy raisers have done this at some point--and today, it was my turn. I was trimming Cabana's toenails, and oooh, I clipped one too short. I barely clipped anything off, but it was still too much. Poor Cabana let out a quick yelp and began to bleed profusely. We were on the carpet, which is very unforgiving beige, so I picked her up and took her to the kitchen where we have hardwood floors.

No, I didn't have any styptic powder--because I didn't think I was ever going to make a mistake and cut her nails too short, you see. I thought I was the goddess of toenail clipping and that I was above such clumsy mistakes.

I tried to put pressure on the offended toe with a paper towel, but Cabana just kept trying to eat the paper towel and wouldn't cooperate. She scampered all over the kitchen and back into the living room, leaving a trail like Freddie Krueger.

Finally, after 15 minutes and no end in sight to the bloodletting, I had to put Cabana in her crate and dash out to buy some styptic powder. After a half hour, I was back home, and Cabana's crate was a bloody mess. I stuck her toe into the powder, and Shazam!! The bleeding stopped instantaneously.

In my frenzy, I didn't take any photos of the blood, so everyone is spared the sight of it. But I do have other pics to share.

This photo is of all Cabana's toys, which we keep on top of her crate. She can reach them, but being very polite, she will only nose them until we get them for her. While it's very mannerly that she doesn't just grab what she wants, it can also be a bit maddening because sometimes, it's a puppy's perogative to change her mind.

Cabana also knows she needs to be invited to go upstairs. The top photo is of her looking up the stairs at me, wondering if she's going to be invited or not.

Leather Wedding Photo Album

My son and daughter-in-law got married last Spring, and I finally finished a leather photo album for them. There is a baby coming this Summer, and I'm planning on making an album for him too. The floral design on the cover—as well as all the lettering—was laser engraved into vegetable tanned leather that I painted white for contrast.