Elf Yourself

Duke, Feef, Turbo, and Tori

Spreading Yuletide cheer!

Watch us bust our moves and then Elf Yourself!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1491734248

"Snow" Fun Being Short!

It's gonna be a "ruff" winter for this little guy...

First Snow!

*Shoves Feef out of the way* Hey! I gotta tell ya about SNOW! Man oh man I couldn't believe it! I bailed out of the dog door the other morning and holy cow! It was amazing! There was white stuff EVERYWHERE! I could feel my skin tingle as my recently-become-abundant fur fluffed itself up. Mom opened the door for Feef and when that little priss saw the snow she ran back into her Fifi-cave and hid. Mom had to track her down and pitch her sissyness out with me. I was already off and running! There was still snow falling and I tried catching a few pieces of it. It's COLD! Then I realized I could just stick my face in the stuff that was already on the ground. I ran along like that for a while. The real ground is UNDER this stuff still, and hard as ever, but this snow stuff just fluffs out of the way.
I ran into the house and told Mom what was going on outside. She didn't seem too impressed so I went back outside. And in again. And out again. And in again. Wow! This stuff is cool! Mom finally came outside to enjoy the fun. She tossed my ball and it disappeared in the snow. I really had to look to find it. Then she threw a snowball, and that was really hard to find but I did! Then when I picked it up, it broke! Mom just laughed and made me a new one. When she threw it, I ran fast, and found it even quicker than the first time, but it still broke when I picked it up. I like the snow!
Then when we got to work, there was snow there too! I had no trouble reading everyone's "pee-mail" because in the snow, you can SEE it as well as smell it. It was tough having to stay inside with Mom when there was so much snow outside but I did. I strut around mom's work like I own the place. Everyone says I'm So Handsome! I believe it! Some people say "He's So Big". At 13 lbs, I outweigh one of my brothers by 8 lbs! Mom tells everyone I'm an Kaniksu Giant Mountain Pom.
Mom's crazy, she insisted on picking me up and carrying me across the road and front sidewalks muttering about salt and chemicals on HER boy's paws - no way! I hope everyone who reads this remembers that even though snow is very cool, us dogs can be affected by it. Remember to keep us away from antifreeze spills and the snow melting chemicals, both of which could be harmful to us pets. Watch for snowball buildup in our paws, because that can be a real pain if our paw's get snow-burns. Be sure our coats are combed out well and no mats can get wet. When they dry, they shrink you know, and it hurts when you comb them out! Also be sure our water dishes aren't frozen solid and that we always have fresh water so we're not tempted to eat too much snow. It can give us some tummy upset.
So while the Feef is not impressed with the snow, I LOVE IT. Give me more! I'm up for it!

Christmas Greetings

Mom got her FIRST e-card from her wonderful friend and artist Rebecca Turner - enjoy Becky's artwork at www.solticeart.com
Here's the link, hope it works because it is a beautiful interactive card!
http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=0212320003

Training the Trainer Tip #1

Attention all you incorrigible corgi's, you maladjusted malamutes, and you terrorist terriers:I have been very pleased with the way my human is teaching me to understand her. Believe me fellow canines, this is well worth directing your human toward. Once I realized there was a pattern to her yapping and gesturing, it was very easy for me to get my personal Puppy PEZ Dispenser to fork over tons of yummyness. So here, in her own words, is what she is doing that is revolutionizing our relationship. As much as I hate to admit it, she makes training FUN, and that makes ME one happy Feef!

Cue - Marker - Release - Reward

4 things you need to remember while training your dog.

Cue: Use your visual cue as well as the verbal cue. Dogs are very adept at reading visual cues. Use this to your advantage. Use a piece of your reward treat as a "LURE" to entice your dog into the position you are trying to train.Verbal cue's should be consistent, spoken in the same tone and inflection every time. Your tone of voice helps set the pace of the excersize. Be excited when you want your dog to move (here, boy!!!), use lower and slower tones with a downward inflection when you want the dog to remain still (stay.). Once the dog knows a cue, do not let him make you say it more than once or twice. Most dogs pick up that they don't get the reward if they don't respond by the second try IF you make that your policy!
Marker: The instant the dog does what you want (or what you don't want) use a marker word! Pick a "yes" marker, and a "no" marker for training. the yes marker can be a clicker, "yes!" "right" "thats it", or even a whistle tone. The no marker can be a buzz sound "eh" "at" "at-at". The reason not to use the word "no" is that you want to save that all-important NO for when you really really need it, not during training. A marker word needs to be delivered within 2 seconds of the act in order to have any meaning to the dog. Puppy comes to understand that the yes marker will earn him a tasty reward so he will associate the action with the marker with the treat.
Release: Always use a release word to let the dog know he's done. "All done!", "over", "that'll do", "finit" and "ok" all serve well as release words. A release word clearly tells the dog when the excersize is over. Using a release word results in a dog that remains sitting when told to sit, instead of a "dine and dash" sit. Be pleased with your dog when he performs well, and he will be happier to perform for you more often.
Reward: Food, praise, attention, play, toys; all make good rewards to a dog. Teeny bits of soft treat work well to treat the dog for his efforts. At first the reward immediately follows the yes marker to tell puppy he's right on track. Once puppy "gets it", you want to hold out on the treat until he's remained in position long enough for you to use your release word. You want to hold out longer and longer, building puppy's duration over time.

Remain patient! Be consistent! Some things puppy will pick right up, and some things puppy will just not get right away. Remember that training should be somewhat fun and positively rewarding to the dog, otherwise he can develop resentment to the training process. Not what you want! Take it slow, keep training sessions to 10 or 15 minutes once or twice a day. Using the same consistent cue, marker, and release words will give your dog a comfort zone for learning in. Using a variety of rewards will keep him excited to keep getting it right. Once he really really knows the behavior, you can use more conversational tones with your dog to get results but if you use too many words in training the dog gets confused.

Keep it to "Sit. Yes, good sit................. All Done!" or "Sit. Yes, good (dog jumps up) at-at!!! Sit. Yes, good sit........ All Done!"

If you catch yourself doing this: "Sit, Spot, there ya... NO! Sit Spot, sit, sit, sit. NO over here! Down! (dog is jumping up by now)Sit! Down! Sit Down! (which do you want, sit or down?) Ok Spot get back here and sit down right here right now!" STOP IT!

Well my canine comrades, good luck with your own humans. I got lucky, mine "gets it" and I couldn't be a happier dog now that I can finally make sense of what she's trying to get across to me!

Until next time, Work when you must, play when you can, take care of your own, and leave your mark!

Some Feefishness

Life goes on. Big Fuzzy lives on in our hearts. Been hard getting mom out of her funk but between me and Turbo, and of course Big Duke, we've been trying. All three of us storm the bed now in the morning, whereas only Big Fuzzy had the right to do that before. It makes mom laugh, get up, and get us biscuits. We have been right there for her, and finally she has picked up her keyboard and resumed chronicling MY story.

You can only imagine how horrified I was waking up last weekend to find the whole world changed. It snowed! Mom was merciless. I was forced out the door regardless. It's cold, and deep. Deeper than I am tall (12"). I stray far enough from the porch to do my biz (Thanks, mom, I coulda just used the carpet in your computer room but nooooooo!) Then I headed back into the Fifi-cave. I'm not coming out until spring unless mom brings me home a new sweater!
Turbo, he's playing puppy-plow and blazing a trail through the stuff. He's never seen snow before but I have! It's hard not to laugh though, he's so cute out there bouncing around discovering snow. He seems to like it!