Aww, lookit Mocha, sitting obediently while he waits for Daddy. He doesn’t look particularly happy, but at least he’s not going nuts or anything. He’s just sitting there, staring at me, thinking, “WTF dood, hurry up! I’ve been waitin like foreva for you!”
Now he’s going, “Whatever dood. Don’t even. Don’t even look at me now. Nuh uh.”
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There was a thunderstorm last week. A loud cackle of thunder sent Mocha racing under the futon. Ever since then, he seems to like hanging out under various pieces of furniture. Like the futon, our chairs, the bed, etc.
Then there was the time I punished him for barking. I read somewhere that using a spray bottle to squirt an uncomfortable mist at his nose is gentle negative reinforcement. Except that Mocha seems to freak out more than other dogs. When I squirted him, he raced under the futon.
I later read that doing this is bad, so I’ve since stopped it. But the damage, sadly, seems to be done. We now have a dog that seems to find safe haven hiding under the furniture. If there are loud sounds outside, or hears something that prompts a bark, he ducks under the futon. Rats.
I’ll admit, it was funny at first, seeing him combat crawl under there. It’s not as funny anymore though. Now we feel kind of bad about it. Guess we’ll need plenty of positive reinforcement to teach him out of this behavior. Fortunately, it isn’t terribly frequent. We just don’t want Mocha to become a scaredy dog.
Mocha took his first step into the pool this afternoon! Joy of joys!
We lured him in with a tennis ball, his favorite of all favorite toys. He tentatively put his front paws into the pool – but just onto the first step. Then he jumped out and ran off, only to return to stared longingly at the ball from the edge of the pool.
Aw well. It’s a first step. One of these days, Mocha will love the water. We just know it.
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We’ve been using the Gentle Leader Headcollar on Mocha these last few days. (The photo above obviously isn’t Mocha.)
On a regular leash, he’s a locomotive – he’s crazy (loco) and always wants to be on the go (motive). In other words, he pulls so fricken hard that he hacks & chokes. A friend recommended the Gentle Leader headcollar because he had heard it worked well. The reviews online looked favorable too.
I’m not so sure Mocha agrees. With the headcollar on, he does follow obediently. But as soon as we stop moving, he goes into Ahh-spider-on-my-shoulder! mode. His paws are all over his face, desperately trying to pull it off. He is usually able to remove it too.
According to the instructional video, you can acclimate your dog to the headcollar by rubbing his muzzle and giving him treats. I’ve been trying that and it hasn’t helped yet. To be fair, we just started using it a few days ago.
The instructional video also explains that if your dog can remove the headcollar, it isn’t on tight enough. So I tightened it to the point where he can barely open his mouth – which the video warns against as well. Maybe Mocha has an oddly-shaped head or something, but it seems like tightening it doesn’t work, nor loosening it up.
After a few hours of returning home and relieving Mocha of the restraint, he suddenly goes nuts. He darts back and forth at top speed, like he’s chasing something or being chased. Like the vacuum cleaner has come alive and is chasing him, ready to suck away his doggie soul.
We this this crazy behavior is Mocha’s way of throwing a temper tantrum. He’s been doing this every night since using the headcollar. I guess he really, really hates it. So we’re going to stop using it for a while to see what happens.
We’re still uncertain about the Gentle Leader headcollar. Perhaps Mocha’s head is shaped funny and this product just doesn’t fit him. Or perhaps I’m doing something wrong when I place it on. I dunno. After a few more days, we are going to continue the treats and muzzle rubs. If he still continues to act up after a month of training, I’ll give up on this product.
Whine whine whine. Whimper whine whine. Whimper whimper whimper. Sniff sniff.
Translated from Dog:
Where’s Mommy going? Why isn’t she taking me with her? It’s just like when Daddy left me behind. Sniff sniff.
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Bark bark bark! Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Rowr.
Woof woof woof. Yip! Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof? Woof woof bark.
Woof woof woof bark! Snort. Woof woof woof. Whimper whine whine. Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Bark bark bark!
Woof woof woof? Snort. Woof woof woof.
Translated from Dog:
Oh boy, what fun! Daddy took me to the dog park today. I made a new friend – a German Shepard puppy. He was such a puff of fur that I wanted to chase and dominate him. heh.
My new friend likes to roll around in the mud as much as I do. Oh boy! It was a hot day and the mud was so cool & refreshing. How could we not resist? Daddy didn’t seem to like that though.
Then my new friend jumped into… the water! Gasp. There was a doggie pool at the dog park. I don’t think I like the water. But this water was different. It wasn’t loud and scary and cold and coming at me really fast. It was cool & refreshing, like the mud. What fun!
I wonder if the water at the dog beach is just as cool & refreshing? Hmmm. Maybe next time I’ll try to play in it too.
P.S. What a bummer, I didn’t get a chance to take any pics of Mocha in the doggie pool. But I got him playing with some other dogs. Check out the goofy face on that brown fellah. hehe.
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Woof woof whimper. Whimper whine whine. Woof woof whine. Whimper whine whine.
Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Bark! Bark bark bark! Yip yip yip yip yip!
Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof.
Woof woof bark! Yip yip yip yip yip!
Translated from Dog:
Daddy took me to a scary place today. A man in a white coat put me on a scale and looked all around my body. The place smelled like pee. I smelled dogs and cats being scared too.
But after that place, Daddy put some water in my food. It made my food soggy and moist. And yummy! OMG it was so good! Thank you Daddy thank you!
I wonder if the man in the white coat told him to do that. I haven’t been eating because the food smelled yucky. It’s the same food Daddy always gives me. Except it was near the bottom of the bag and smelled yucky.
Now that Daddy is putting water into my food, it tastes so good now! Thank you Daddy thank you!
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We’re so happy Mocha likes his crate. I wonder if his previous owners crate-trained him. At night, he walks into his crate on his own to go to sleep. I know it takes months for some owners to crate-train their dogs, so we’re damn thankful that Mocha appears to be comfortable with his crate.
However, he doesn’t love his crate. Not yet. He prefers to chill out at our feet or in his favorite corner. So I’ve been trying to complete his training. And with our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy! Uh… Ahem.
So I was saying… I’ve got to continue his crate training. With plenty of treats, hopefully it won’t be too difficult.
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Oh man. I did it. I made Mocha a Dogster page. If you have one too, add him and let’s be Pup Pals!
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Today was Mocha’s first ever visit to the Pacific Ocean. At least, we assumed so, since he was found far inland. Also, he is terrified of the water. Like “ZOMG Whatisthatstuff?? Getmeouttahere!!” terrified. He planted his butt into the sand and would not get any closer than where he was in this photo.
And he’s supposed to be part Labrador Retriever, right? Riiight.
So after today, we are going to devise a plan to slowly introduce him to the water. We love the beach and Labs are supposed to love the beach, so dagnabit, we’re going to make him love the beach too!
Mocha is a playful 1-year old 25 lb mutt we rescued from a local animal shelter. He loves to run, play, and eat. Don't you?
Mike is was the proud owner of this adorable little guy. We miss him terribly every day.
