I've been wanting to get a treadmill for Isis for a while...because I can't walk as much as she probably needs to walk. And I can't run at all. My boyfriend has a treadmill, but he doesn't want to share, and we have visions of her running alongside him on her own treadmill. I bought a used one over the weekend, and I really think she likes it. Except the thing won't run for more than a minute at a time...so we'll be returning it and looking for another.

I brought Isis to work on Halloween, and she was surprisingly well-behaved. Since I was to be the only one here today, I brought her again. She sits very dutifully on the floor of my office or looking out the front door of the suite. The problem is, she barks her head off at passersby. Excellent guard work, although a bit too loud.

Isis tore a hole in the bedroom carpet last week, prompting an impromptu remodel, revealing lovely hardwood underneath. At some point, probably during the night Monday, she started in on the computer room carpet. My boyfriend said, "I'm not tearing out the carpet in here too!" (It was a lot of work). The damage in the computer room was minor, so I sprayed it with "Bitter Yuck." The next night, Isis tore open a stuffed Halloween cat pillow, even though she has a wealth of toys

 

We were jumped on our morning walk today. By a shepherdy-looking dog that was not on a leash . I'm not opposed in principle to people breaking the leash law...but when it derails our own training, it's quite frustrating. I wound up crying for the remainder of the walk. Isis was fine, smiling and prancing along as though nothing happened. Here's what went down: I had her on her new harness. As we started off on the sidewalk, I was employing the "Easy...Oops" training strategy

 

 

I tried to buy a Canny collar last weekend. Actually drove Isis to Seattle to do so, because you can't just buy a Canny collar anywhere. They're from the U.K. Why I thought the Canny collar would be better than the Gentle Leader or the Halti, I cannot explain. But when I got to the pet store, the employees talked me out of the Canny collar. "See, she doesn't like it," the guy said, as Isis batted at the strap over her nose. Well I didn't expect her to like it! They convinced

I want to train Isis to be a therapy dog! Delusional, right? She can't reliably walk past another dog on a leash. She also might have the tendency to chew on people's hands when they pet her... But assuming we got past those minor problems... I guess this gives me a reason to keep working at our obedience. The Therapy Dogs International test isn't even as strict as the one at my training facility. For loose lead: "The dog need not be perfectly aligned with the handler and need not

I'm trying to stay positive about the things Isis does well, rather than get frustrated that she still turns into Lil Miss Snarly pants when on her leash. So. She stayed in a down-stay for five minutes with me out of sight. Only army-crawled a teeny bit, but stopped when I poked my head out and told her "You stay." That's huge progress. But. Leash reactivity. Still. On our walk yesterday, a jogger came toward us with a dog off lead. I tightened my grip, as usual and told Isis she