Here is a video of Coco and me working with a long leash. Using the long leash gave me the freedom to train Coco and give her the space to make her own decisions. It helped me to stop tugging and to rely more on using sounds and verbal commands so we could work together in sync.
I put this long leash video together to show how to use this technique. I also use a whistle in one of the clips (sorry if it's loud) to get Coco used to coming from a distance when I use my whistle. A thirty-three foot leash, as you can see, is plenty of leash to let a dog roam with some freedom and enjoy a day with you in a park.
We have had a couple of serious encounters with dogs that were off leash. I've written about them in this blog. Once a german shepherd attacked Coco. We were talking with a friend and when we turned around to continue on our walk he was already across the street and took two strides and hit the air. I was also walking my son's Chihuahua. With my peripheral blindness and balance issues from having a Traumatic Brain Injury and with having difficulty processing information when things happen too fast, this could have been serious for more than one reason. The lesat of being that it's dangerous for me to fall and hit my head and for another reason, I have been working with my service dog for almost four years. If she would have gotten injured all of that hard work and the freedom to go places I now enjoy, would have come to a stop.
While the dog was in the air Coco bent down and as he was landing she grabbed him by the throat and threw herself in the air over him and came down straddling him. Her entire body was shaking with tension to keep him away from us. The owner came over and broke their concentration. Then Coco came right back to my side. She showed incredible restraint and did not bite the other dog.
This was a huge setback for us. I had to work on keeping Coco calm when we were walking near other dogs and I had a really rough time with not being afraid and tense myself. I thought the problem was over with this dog but the other day Coco and I were out walking and she cued me that something was ahead and I saw him loose again. So we turned around and walked the long way back to my car. I now drive to a park so Coco and I can avoid lose dogs and take a nice long walk.
Coco was finally getting calmer, me too, when three dogs swarmed around us in another park. This time I was overwhelmed and had a full blown reaction. I fell down and my hip and shoulder still hurt me, even though this happened months ago. This time Coco laid across my and protected me. She put her neck over mine and looked into my eyes and never looked away. There were wet spots all over her body where the other dogs were grabbing at her. She could have stood there and tried to protect me and try to fight with these dogs but she didn't. Instead she let her body shield me. The young man that was letting his dogs run loose in a public park that has leash laws, was just having a nice day. And before the ambulance took me away that's all I wanted too.
It took Coco and I about eight or nine months of work before both of us were calm and enjoying our walks again. Thanks to a trainer that we met in the park, we had the chance to work with another dog that had once been highly reactive to other dogs. Without this person taking time out of his busy life to help us, we might still be struggling.
I remember when I had my first Akita, Angel. Back when we had the farm. And then when we had Bear, my second Akita. And they were so amazing when they hit their stride and then began to lope, like deer. And I wished I could let them just have their freedom. But the reality is, there is traffic. In some countries dogs run loose. In some countries they are more members of the community they live in. But in some countries there is also a problem with rabid dogs attacking other dogs and people. So we have leash laws here. And they are good. Having leash laws means we can walk dogs and keep them from attacking each other or other people.
I remember when I was fostering dogs. And I had this amazing Chow Chow who had suffered indescribable cruelty. And I loved him and he became this amazing soul wrapped in a bundle of red fur. We walked later in the evenings because the heat was hard for him. Some new people moved into the area and they had two dobermans. And they let them loose late at night. They scared the hell out of me. Fortunately, I saw them before they saw us and we went back to the house. I wrote the new neighbors about Yogi and what he had gone through and that it was dangerous to just let their dobies loose at night. And they stopped. Which was awesome.
I have an Akita because all three of my Akitas were really intune with what I needed. Before I got dizzy or had what I call a bad spell, from feeling all woozy and not being able to focus on what was going on around me. Each one gave me cues to stop or sit down or go lay down. And they were all strong enough to brace for me, even before I knew what that was.
So having an Akita service dog is perfect for me. All that being said, Akitas may not be for everybody. If I let her run loose it would probably bother all kinds of people. So I put in fencing around my backyard. And I put her on a leash and we go for walks. She wears her service dog vest and still we have had to change our directions because people walking their dogs let them loose and don't have a clue that this may not be good for everyone else around. I don't care what size of a dog it is, encountering a dog off leash when all someone wants to do is take their dog for a walk, is really inconsiderate.
I shouldn't have to explain, I have a brain injury or I have peripheral blindness or say two words about why I need a service dog to anyone, unless I want too. Now I holler ahead and ask a person if their dog is on a leash. And so far, they have put their loose dogs on a leash. My point is, if you want your dog to have some freedom great, get a long leash. If you see anyone or another dog, loose or on a leash, you should bring your dog back to your side. You may be enjoying the day by letting your dog run loose, but it could wind up being a catastrophe, or at the very least a headache, for someone else.
Now I have an airhorn and dog pepperspray so if I do have a problem I can do something about it. And this has made me feel a lot calmer so I have been able to work on Coco's non-reactive training. She has been doing great with her training too. We both have. I'll need to get someone to take some video of us working. It's just hard to plan on when the opportunity is going to arise and so far, we've been alone everytime. But she is learning that I expect her to sit and look at me when a dog is passing us by. She is doing this consistently and wonderfully. And on occassion, when I see that the other dog owner knows what they are doing and they can control their dog, we even walk facing each other and Coco has done really well with this too.
I really enjoy being able to go for a walk and enjoy the day. So does Coco. I hope this video inspires others who may not understand why it is important for them to be able to bring their dogs to their sides quickly, to get a long leash. Dogs can be completely predictable and well trained and still run off and challenge another dog, even though this isn't their normal behavior. They can decide to run off and scare someone who has been bitten by a dog. Or they can bite someone. All of these things can be avoided if people simply take responsibility for their dog and get a leash and then use it. Just because we use a leash, that doesn't mean we can't have fun with our dog.
Friday, October 14, 2011
AIDS Enzyme
Gamers help crack an AIDS enzyme puzzle.
This is a truly creative way to access our best recourses, our creativity and intelligence, to work through solutions that will bring about healing and change to our human condition.
We could be doing so much more if people could imagine harnessing an issue and exploring new ways to look at a problem and to find new ways of approaching how to make changes that will be constructive and responsible to our amazing planet and to all that live here.
You go gamers. When you think of how many people are out of work and who are brilliant, who could be connecting and finding new ways of thinking and working through our problems, the virtual sea of possibility is endless.
This is a truly creative way to access our best recourses, our creativity and intelligence, to work through solutions that will bring about healing and change to our human condition.
We could be doing so much more if people could imagine harnessing an issue and exploring new ways to look at a problem and to find new ways of approaching how to make changes that will be constructive and responsible to our amazing planet and to all that live here.
You go gamers. When you think of how many people are out of work and who are brilliant, who could be connecting and finding new ways of thinking and working through our problems, the virtual sea of possibility is endless.
Occupy Wall Street - Immortal Technique
My kids turned me onto Immortal Technique. I loved his honesty and his rap music. This interview is so good I wanted to share it with you.
Well Put.
The connection our government has to corporate wealth and greed is undeniable. We may not know what has been said or decided on in secret. The closed doors may be secured by all of the strength and secrecy money can afford. But we can see clearly the result of those agreements.
I see ads on TV about how we need to do more drilling for oil in Canada. The dessimation that has occured on this planet because of the manipulating of politics and the fuels we use for heating and mobility is shameful.
If you want to see a really good documentary about this check out "Why We Fight."
We don't need to feed the beast any longer. Oil is a finite resource. And pumping out gas and creating huge pipelines that could destroy a vast amount of our fresh water is so ridiculous I can't believe people promote these things in ads on TV.
We need to put our money and our resources toward developing passive ways to produce fuel for heating and our mobility. We need to make use of the wind and sun and recycle the gas we create through our own waste. We need to be doing these things now. I think there should be companies that facilitate these things but I think it should also belong to the people. Not to a few who use rate hikes as a source of power they can use against the very people it is supposed to serve. We also need individual resources that we can use on our own houses, to charge our own cars. And we need to put people back to work creating clean and safe forms of mass transit. And we need to do these things now. And you know what? Most of us know this. The reason why these things haven't been happening on a large scale since we first started realizing the importance of this for the stability of our environment and our own lives is because the big money that still controls our government is preventing it.
But when the people realize they have the power to get involved in their own communities and that they have the access to the internet that will help to level the playing field on those who can represent their own communities then they can begin to make changes in a small way that will also change the conversation we are having or not having with our own government.
Years ago I wrote about how we need to make a change in the way we buy food. Even if we can't afford to buy all organic foods or buy all cleaning products that are made by companies that aren't polluting our earth. But if we can buy one thing or a few things, this will start a trend. And little by little, farmers will choose to plant crops using organic methods and companies will see that there is an advantage to their bottom lines by how they take care of the planet while they are making the products they are selling.
And that is true. And so it is true these days. If you don't like what people are doing in high places, make changes in your own lives. Stop feeding the beast that is consuming your representation.
I mean, just take one frivolous beast we feed, Cable TV. We should be able to fund the channels we want to see. Like PBS and channels we think are enriching. But the people who determine what we have access to, say we have to pay a huge amount of money for all kinds of channels we don't support, to have access to the ones we want. I cancelled by cable years ago. I use Netflix and the local library to check out new things. And the internet. None of my kids even have TV and don't buy cable. People gripe about the ones who hold the strings because they don't realize they are in control of where their money goes. They'll pay any price to buy into crap they don't want to support. How many stations would lose their audience if their audience could shut them out of their lives? Lots. When people look at a corporate entity that is using the money they have to buy off politicians with lobbiests with their profits (profits they have because people pay for their product) and then they take it one more step and stop buying these products, whoa, things just might change.
We may not have much these days, but how much do we really need? If we don't have a job how about cancelling cable and going to the library and learning how to make something with our hands? Or how about going to city council meetings and recording what is going on there and then sharing it online? Or what about volunteering and helping each other out with our skills? We do not have to sit in a misery of our own making. We do not have to wait for someone to make everything all better. We have to get off of our own asses and make our own lives meaningful buy how we live everyday. We don't need a boss or a company or a corporation to give our lives meaning or to do something valuable with our time. We can get out there and live the change we want to see in the world. It's daring. I know. But its so good.
Like Ghandi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world."
Well Put.
The connection our government has to corporate wealth and greed is undeniable. We may not know what has been said or decided on in secret. The closed doors may be secured by all of the strength and secrecy money can afford. But we can see clearly the result of those agreements.
I see ads on TV about how we need to do more drilling for oil in Canada. The dessimation that has occured on this planet because of the manipulating of politics and the fuels we use for heating and mobility is shameful.
If you want to see a really good documentary about this check out "Why We Fight."
We don't need to feed the beast any longer. Oil is a finite resource. And pumping out gas and creating huge pipelines that could destroy a vast amount of our fresh water is so ridiculous I can't believe people promote these things in ads on TV.
We need to put our money and our resources toward developing passive ways to produce fuel for heating and our mobility. We need to make use of the wind and sun and recycle the gas we create through our own waste. We need to be doing these things now. I think there should be companies that facilitate these things but I think it should also belong to the people. Not to a few who use rate hikes as a source of power they can use against the very people it is supposed to serve. We also need individual resources that we can use on our own houses, to charge our own cars. And we need to put people back to work creating clean and safe forms of mass transit. And we need to do these things now. And you know what? Most of us know this. The reason why these things haven't been happening on a large scale since we first started realizing the importance of this for the stability of our environment and our own lives is because the big money that still controls our government is preventing it.
But when the people realize they have the power to get involved in their own communities and that they have the access to the internet that will help to level the playing field on those who can represent their own communities then they can begin to make changes in a small way that will also change the conversation we are having or not having with our own government.
Years ago I wrote about how we need to make a change in the way we buy food. Even if we can't afford to buy all organic foods or buy all cleaning products that are made by companies that aren't polluting our earth. But if we can buy one thing or a few things, this will start a trend. And little by little, farmers will choose to plant crops using organic methods and companies will see that there is an advantage to their bottom lines by how they take care of the planet while they are making the products they are selling.
And that is true. And so it is true these days. If you don't like what people are doing in high places, make changes in your own lives. Stop feeding the beast that is consuming your representation.
I mean, just take one frivolous beast we feed, Cable TV. We should be able to fund the channels we want to see. Like PBS and channels we think are enriching. But the people who determine what we have access to, say we have to pay a huge amount of money for all kinds of channels we don't support, to have access to the ones we want. I cancelled by cable years ago. I use Netflix and the local library to check out new things. And the internet. None of my kids even have TV and don't buy cable. People gripe about the ones who hold the strings because they don't realize they are in control of where their money goes. They'll pay any price to buy into crap they don't want to support. How many stations would lose their audience if their audience could shut them out of their lives? Lots. When people look at a corporate entity that is using the money they have to buy off politicians with lobbiests with their profits (profits they have because people pay for their product) and then they take it one more step and stop buying these products, whoa, things just might change.
We may not have much these days, but how much do we really need? If we don't have a job how about cancelling cable and going to the library and learning how to make something with our hands? Or how about going to city council meetings and recording what is going on there and then sharing it online? Or what about volunteering and helping each other out with our skills? We do not have to sit in a misery of our own making. We do not have to wait for someone to make everything all better. We have to get off of our own asses and make our own lives meaningful buy how we live everyday. We don't need a boss or a company or a corporation to give our lives meaning or to do something valuable with our time. We can get out there and live the change we want to see in the world. It's daring. I know. But its so good.
Like Ghandi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world."
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